Method for improving NFC (Near Field Communication) Tag card reading stability of financial equipment

Abstract

The invention discloses a method for improving the card reading stability of an NFC (Near Field Communication) Tag of financial equipment. The method comprises the following steps: 1) detecting equipment approaching at a POS (Point of Sale) terminal through an equipment approaching detection module; 2) after determining that the equipment approaches, starting an NFC (Near Field Communication) Tag function of the POS terminal, and entering a monitoring mode; (3) judging whether the equipment completes NFC TAG NDEF data reading within set time or not; if yes, entering an NFC equipment departure detection stage; if not, closing the NFC Tag function of the POS terminal and executing the step 4); 4) detecting whether the device is continuously in place, and if the detection result is that the NFC device is continuously in place, restarting the NFC Tag function of the POS terminal; if the detection result is that the NFC equipment is not in place, executing the step 5); (5) the POS terminal monitors whether the external equipment has a non-contact field, and if the POS terminal does not monitor the non-contact field, the transaction is quitted; and if the POS terminal monitors the non-contact field, the NFC Tag function of the POS terminal is restarted. According to the invention, the stability and reliability of NFC Tag interaction between the NFC equipment and the POS terminal can be improved, and the method is suitable for further popularization and application.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of financial equipment interacting with NFC equipment, and particularly relates to a method for improving the NFC Tag reading stability of financial equipment. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the increasing maturity of NFC technology (Near Field Communication), the payment method based on NFC TAG has become one of the mainstream payment methods. The NFC TAG payment method refers to that an NFC equipment establishes a communication relationship with an external TAG (card or card simulation equipment) through its own Reader function, reads and analyzes the TAG information, and if the TAG information meets the NDEF rule, a payment link is popped up or a payment application is jumped to, and the user completes the transaction by clicking the link or in the payment application.

[0003] In order to improve the endurance and ensure that the NFC function is not affected, most manufacturers use the LCPD (Low Power Card Detection) power consumption detection technology for NFC equipment, especially NFC mobile phones. The LCPD technology detects the non-contact field load change by sending a non-contact pulse signal at regular intervals. When the non-contact field load change exceeds the preset value, the NFC equipment exits the LCPD detection mode, restores the Reader mode, and performs card searching and NFC TAG data reading operations.

[0004] In order to support this emerging payment method of NFC TAG, as the largest financial payment terminal in the market, the POS equipment realizes the NFC Tag function by using the NFC Tag function of the POS equipment, including the card simulation TAG function, the NFC TAG chip, and the interaction with the NFC equipment, and then completes the transaction. In order to ensure quick response to the NFC equipment reading the TAG information, the POS equipment usually needs to be in the NFC Tag mode for a long time, which leads to an increase in the power consumption of the POS equipment, and the non-contact field load has no fluctuation when the POS equipment is in the NFC Tag mode for a long time, so that the NFC equipment in the LCPD mode is difficult to quickly restore the Reader mode.

[0005] In order to ensure the quickness, reliability and stability of the interaction between the NFC Tag of the POS terminal and the NFC equipment, and at the same time ensure that the introduction of the NFC Tag function does not increase the power consumption of the POS equipment, the present application proposes a method based on low-power NFC Tag and capable of enhancing the ability of the NFC equipment in the LCPD mode to quickly sense the external environment change, entering the Reader mode, and reading the TAG information. SUMMARY

[0006] In response to the above problems, the present invention proposes a method for improving the stability of the NFC Tag function and the success rate of tag data being read by an NFC device by utilizing the LPCD detection function of a POS machine.

[0007] In order to achieve the above technical objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: a method for improving the NFC Tag card reading stability of financial devices, comprising:

[0008] 1) Set up a device proximity detection module at the POS terminal and use the module to detect the proximity of the device;

[0009] 2) After confirming that the device is close, turn on the NFC Tag function of the POS terminal and enter the monitoring mode;

[0010] 3) Determine whether the device completes the NFC TAG NDEF data reading within the specified time (i.e., detects whether the TAG interaction process is completed within the specified time);

[0011] If yes, the process proceeds to the NFC device departure detection phase; if no, the NFC Tag function on the POS terminal is disabled and step 4 is executed.

[0012] 4) Check whether the device is continuously in place. If the detection result shows that the NFC device is continuously in place, re-enable the NFC Tag function on the POS terminal;

[0013] If the detection result is that the NFC device is not in place, go to step 5);

[0014] 5) The POS terminal monitors whether the external device has a contactless field. If the POS terminal does not monitor the contactless field, the transaction is aborted and the transaction failure is returned.

[0015] If the POS terminal detects a contactless field, the NFC Tag function of the POS terminal will be re-enabled.

[0016] Furthermore, after re-enabling the NFC Tag function of the POS terminal in step 4), it is determined whether the device completes reading the NFC TAG NDEF data within a predetermined time;

[0017] If yes, it will enter the NFC device departure detection phase; if not, it will monitor whether there is an external LPCD signal;

[0018] If there is an LPCD signal, the user is prompted to move the NFC device and execute step 3). If there is no LPCD signal, the NFC Tag function of the POS terminal is turned off and the transaction is exited.

[0019] Further, the POS terminal listens to the non-contact field in step 5), and determines whether the NFC device is in the LPCD mode according to the non-contact field duration. If the NFC device is still in the LPCD mode, the user is prompted to move the NFC device, and step 3) is performed.

[0020] If the NFC device is in the normal card reading mode, it is determined whether the device completes the NFC TAG NDEF data reading within a predetermined time. If yes, the NFC device off-site detection phase is entered. If no, the transaction is exited.

[0021] Further, whether the NFC device is in the LPCD mode is determined according to the non-contact field duration. The specific determination method is as follows:

[0022] If the NFC device sends a signal with a duration of us level, it is determined that the NFC device is in the LPCD mode.

[0023] If the NFC device sends a signal with a duration greater than 5 ms, it is determined that the NFC device is in the normal card reading mode.

[0024] Further, the device proximity detection module can be a proximity sensor or a non-contact LPCD detection module.

[0025] Further, in step 3), the specific method for determining whether the device completes the NFC TAG NDEF data reading within a predetermined time is as follows: by counting the ISO 14443 TYPE A read TAG command, it is determined whether the response data within a predetermined time exceeds the POS terminal NFC Tag NDEF data. If yes, it is determined that the NFC TAG NDEF data reading is completed. If no, it is determined that the NFC TAG NDEF data reading is not completed.

[0026] Further, in step 3), the NFC device is detected whether it is continuously present by improving the sensitivity of the POS terminal LPCD detection.

[0027] Further, the sensitivity of the LPCD detection is improved by reducing the LPCD detection threshold and increasing the LPCD detection frequency.

[0028] Further, after the NFC device and the POS terminal normally complete the interaction, the NFC device off-site detection phase is entered.

[0029] The NFC device off-site detection phase is as follows: after the device proximity detection module detects that the NFC device is off-site, the POS terminal closes the NFC Tag function, and the transaction is ended.

[0030] Further, the NFC device off-site detection stage returns whether the NFC device is an IOS system according to NFC device system characteristics, and the specific judgment mode is as follows:

[0031] After the NFC device completes the acquisition of the TAG information, if the non-contact field is reset for three times and the WUPA instruction is sent, it is determined that the NFC device is an IOS system, otherwise, it is determined that the NFC device is a non-IOS system.

[0032] Compared with the prior art, the technical scheme has the beneficial effects that:

[0033] The present application can reasonably schedule the NFC Tag function, the LPCD function, and the external non-contact field induction function of the POS device, reduce the power consumption of the POS device, and improve the stability and reliability of the NFC TAG transaction of the POS device.

[0034] In the first NFC device confirmation process, the NFC Tag function of the POS terminal is started after the NFC device is close, which avoids the long-term NFC Tag mode of the POS terminal, reduces the power consumption loss of the POS device, and prolongs the standby time of the POS device.

[0035] In the second NFC device confirmation process, the LPCD detection sensitivity is improved, the NFC device is confirmed to be in place, the POS terminal NFC Tag mode is switched, the non-contact field load change of the POS device is increased, and the success rate of the NFC device reading the TAG is improved.

[0036] In the third NFC device confirmation process, for the NFC device in the LPCD mode for a long time, the detection of the external non-contact field load change has the lowest capability, the user is prompted to move the device, and the success rate of the TAG reading is improved.

[0037] The present application improves the stability and reliability of the NFC device and the POS terminal NFC Tag interaction by three NFC device confirmation processes and corresponding NFC device reading TAG success rate improvement schemes according to the confirmation results. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0038] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments or prior art description. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor.

[0039] Fig. 1 The flowchart of the present application is shown in the figure.

[0040] Fig. 2 This is the system block diagram of the POS terminal and the NFC device terminal.

[0041] Fig. 3 This is a simplified diagram of the three-step confirmation process for NFC devices. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] The present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples. It is particularly noted that the following examples are intended only to illustrate the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Similarly, the following examples are only some embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to be exhaustive. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are intended to fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0043] The present invention provides a method for improving the stability of NFC tag reading of financial devices. First, the proximity detection module of the POS terminal device, including but not limited to a proximity sensor and a contactless LPCD detection module, is activated to detect the proximity of the device. Second, after confirming that a device outside the POS is approaching, the POS NFC tag function is activated to monitor whether the device initiates a tag read instruction, i.e., a read NDEF data instruction in accordance with the ISO 14443 TYPE A protocol. If no interaction completion instruction is detected within a predetermined time, the POS NFC tag function is exited and the next step of the process of confirming the continued presence of the device is entered.

[0044] Improve the LPCD detection sensitivity and turn on the LPCD function of the POS machine to confirm that the NFC device is continuously in place. If it is determined that the NFC device is continuously in place, restart the POS NFC Tag. If the approaching device is an NFC device, the switching of the POS NFC Tag function of the POS machine will cause changes in the contactless load field environment, which can promote the NFC device to enter Reader mode, open the field and complete TAG reading; if it is determined that the NFC device is not continuously in place, the POS end will monitor whether the external device has a contactless field. If the POS end monitors the contactless field, the NFC Tag function of the POS end will be restarted. If the POS end does not monitor the contactless field (such as the approaching device is not an NFC device, or the NFC device is far away, etc.), exit the transaction and return transaction failure.

[0045] Reference Figs. 1-3 As shown, this embodiment provides a method for improving the NFC tag reading stability of a financial device. The specific steps of the method are as follows:

[0046] 1) Set the device close detection module in the POS terminal, and detect the device close through the module (this is the first determination of the NFC device process). The device close detection module can be selected from a proximity sensor (such as a TOF detection module, an infrared detection module, etc.) or a non-contact LPCD detection module. The module is mainly used to set the time when the POS NFC Tag function is turned on.

[0047] TOF detection module, TOF (Time of Flight) sensor is a sensor technology that calculates distance by measuring the time from the emission of light or signal to the reflection return. When the device is close to the POS, the distance value decreases, and the device close signal outside the POS can be triggered by setting the threshold value.

[0048] LPCD detection module, LPCD power consumption card detection technology detects the change of external load by timing pulse transmission, and realizes it by analyzing the change amount of Amplitude Value and Phase Value. When the change amount ΔAmplitude & ΔPhase exceeds the set value, it is considered that there is a device close outside, which is the first determination of the NFC device process.

[0049] 2) After determining the device close, turn on the NFC Tag function of the POS terminal and enter the listening mode.

[0050] 3) Determine whether the device completes the NFC TAG NDEF data reading within a specified time. The specific determination method is: by counting the ISO 14443 TYPE A read TAG instruction, determine whether the response data exceeds the POS end NFC Tag NDEF data within a specified time. If it exceeds, it is determined that the NFC TAG NDEF data reading is completed. If it does not exceed, it is determined that the NFC TAG NDEF data reading is not completed. For example: the POS end NFC Tag has n bytes of NDEF data. When the ISO 14443 TYPE A read instruction is listened to, if the offset position indicated by the instruction is the NDEF area starting data instruction, the POS enters the NDEF data interaction stage. Since the NDEF data structure clearly indicates the effective data length, if the NFC device needs to obtain complete data, it must read all the data in sequence. When the offset position contained in the read instruction plus the data length read by the instruction exceeds n, it is determined that the reading is complete.

[0051] If the NFC TAG NDEF data reading is completed within the specified time, the NFC device off-site detection phase is entered. After the NFC device and the POS terminal normally complete the interaction, the NFC device off-site detection phase is entered; the device off-site detection phase is specifically: after the device proximity detection module detects that the NFC device off-site, the POS terminal closes the NFC Tag function, and the transaction is ended.

[0052] If the NFC TAG NDEF data reading is not completed within the specified time, the NFC Tag function of the POS terminal is closed, and step 4) is performed.

[0053] 4) The detection sensitivity of the LPCD is improved by reducing the LPCD detection threshold and increasing the LPCD detection frequency, and after the detection sensitivity is improved, it is detected whether the NFC device is continuously in place (this is the second time to determine the NFC device flow).

[0054] If the detection result is that the NFC device is continuously in place, the NFC Tag function of the POS terminal is restarted, and it is judged whether the device completes the NFC TAG NDEF data reading within the specified time; if yes, the NFC device off-site detection phase is entered; if no, it is listened whether there is an LPCD signal outside; if there is an LPCD signal, the user is prompted to move the NFC device, and step 3) is performed, if there is no LPCD signal, the NFC Tag function of the POS terminal is closed, and the transaction is exited.

[0055] After the NFC Tag function of the POS terminal is restarted, due to the POS function switching, the POS non-contact card load changes rapidly, which improves the probability of the NFC device in the LCPD mode entering the Reader mode, and further improves the success rate of the NFC device reading the TAG.

[0056] If the detection result is that the NFC device is not in place, step 5) is performed.

[0057] 5) The POS terminal listens whether there is a non-contact field outside the device; wherein, the non-contact field includes an LPCD signal field and a signal field in the normal card search mode (Reader mode) of the NFC device;

[0058] If the POS terminal does not listen to the non-contact field, the transaction is exited and the transaction is returned to the transaction failure;

[0059] If the POS terminal detects a non-contact field, the NFC Tag function of the POS terminal is restarted (this is the third time of determining the NFC device process). In this embodiment, after the POS terminal detects a non-contact field, whether the NFC device is in the LPCD mode is determined according to the non-contact field duration. Specifically, if a signal with a transmission duration of us level is detected, it is determined that the NFC device is in the LPCD mode; if a signal with a transmission duration greater than 5 ms is detected, it is determined that the NFC device is in the normal card reading mode, i.e., the Reader mode.

[0060] If the NFC device is still in the LPCD mode, the user is prompted to move the NFC device and step 3) is performed to improve the success rate of TAG reading; if the NFC device is in the normal card reading mode (Reader mode), whether the NFC device completes the NFC TAG NDEF data reading within a predetermined time is determined; if yes, the NFC device off-site detection stage is entered; if no, the transaction is exited.

[0061] In this embodiment, the NFC device off-site detection stage returns whether the NFC device is an IOS system according to the NFC device system characteristics. The specific determination method is as follows:

[0062] If the NFC device completes the acquisition of the TAG information and then resets the non-contact field and sends a WUPA instruction for three times, it is determined that the NFC device is an IOS system; otherwise, it is determined that the NFC device is a non-IOS system.

[0063] In summary, the present application improves the stability and reliability of the NFC device and the POS terminal NFC Tag interaction by confirming the NFC device process three times and providing corresponding solutions to improve the success rate of the NFC device reading the TAG according to the confirmation result, and is suitable for further popularization and application.

[0064] The above only describes some embodiments of the present application, and does not limit the protection scope of the present application, and any equivalent device or equivalent process transformation using the content of the specification and drawings, or direct or indirect application in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for improving the NFC tag reading stability of a financial device, characterized in that: include: 1) Set up a device proximity detection module at the POS terminal and use the module to detect the proximity of the device; 2) After confirming that the device is close, turn on the NFC Tag function of the POS terminal and enter the monitoring mode; 3) Determine whether the device completes reading the NFC TAG NDEF data within the specified time; If yes, the process proceeds to the NFC device departure detection phase; if no, the NFC Tag function on the POS terminal is disabled and step 4 is executed. 4) Check whether the device is continuously in place. If the detection result shows that the NFC device is continuously in place, re-enable the NFCTag function on the POS terminal; If the detection result is that the NFC device is not in place, go to step 5); 5) The POS terminal monitors whether the external device has a contactless field. If the POS terminal does not monitor the contactless field, the transaction is aborted. If the POS terminal detects a contactless field, the NFC Tag function of the POS terminal will be re-enabled.

2. The method for improving the NFC tag reading stability of financial equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: After re-enabling the NFC Tag function on the POS terminal in step 4), determine whether the device completes reading the NFC TAG NDEF data within the specified time; If yes, it will enter the NFC device departure detection phase; if not, it will monitor whether there is an external LPCD signal; If there is an LPCD signal, the user is prompted to move the NFC device and execute step 3). If there is no LPCD signal, the NFC Tag function of the POS terminal is turned off and the transaction is exited.

3. The method for improving the NFC tag reading stability of financial equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step 5), after the POS terminal detects the contactless field, it determines whether the NFC device is in LPCD mode based on the duration of the contactless field. If the NFC device is still in LPCD mode, it prompts the user to move the NFC device and executes step 3). If the NFC device is in normal card reading mode, it is determined whether the device has completed the NFC TAG NDEF data reading within the specified time; if so, it enters the NFC device departure detection phase; if not, it exits the transaction.

4. The method for improving the NFC tag reading stability of financial equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that: Determine whether the NFC device is in LPCD mode based on the duration of the non-contact field. The specific determination method is as follows: If the NFC device is monitored to send a signal with a duration of μs, the NFC device is determined to be in LPCD mode; If the NFC device is monitored to send a signal lasting longer than 5ms, it is determined that the NFC device is in normal card search mode.

5. The method for improving the NFC tag reading stability of financial equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The device approach detection module may be a proximity sensor or a contactless LPCD detection module.

6. The method for improving the NFC tag reading stability of financial equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step 3), the specific method for determining whether the device has completed the NFC TAG NDEF data reading within the specified time is as follows: by counting the ISO 14443 TYPE A read TAG command, it is determined whether the response data exceeds the NFC Tag NDEF data on the POS side within the specified time. If it exceeds, it is determined that the NFC TAG NDEF data reading is completed; if not, it is determined that the NFC TAG NDEF data reading is not completed.

7. The method for improving the NFC tag reading stability of financial equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step 3), the POS terminal LPCD detection sensitivity is increased to detect whether the NFC device is continuously in place.

8. The method for improving the NFC tag reading stability of a financial device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The detection sensitivity of LPCD is improved by lowering the LPCD detection threshold and increasing the LPCD detection frequency.

9. The method for improving the NFC tag reading stability of financial equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: After the NFC device and the POS terminal complete the interaction normally, the NFC device leaves the detection phase. The NFC device departure detection phase is as follows: after the device proximity detection module detects that the NFC device has left the site, the POS terminal turns off the NFC Tag function and ends the transaction.

10. The method for improving the NFC Tag reading stability of a financial device according to claim 1 or 9, characterized in that: During the NFC device departure detection phase, the system characteristics of the NFC device will be used to determine whether the NFC device is running the iOS system. The specific judgment method is as follows: After the NFC device completes acquiring the TAG information, if it performs three contactless field resets and sends the WUPA command, it is determined that the NFC device is an iOS system; otherwise, it is determined that the NFC device is a non-iOS system.

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