WO2009020264A1

WO2009020264A1 - Mobile terminal power up by external device

Info

Publication number: WO2009020264A1
Application number: PCT/KR2008/000696
Authority: WO
Inventors: Paul Jolivet
Original assignee: Lg Electronics Inc.
Priority date: 2007-08-07
Filing date: 2008-02-04
Publication date: 2009-02-12
Also published as: KR20090021646A

Abstract

A mobile terminal can be controlled, such as being turned on or powered up, according to instructions or commands provided from an external device. Upon being turned on or powered up, the mobile terminal and the external device can authenticate each other and cooperate to perform a desired function or conduct a transaction.

Description

Description MOBILE TERMINAL POWER UP BY EXTERNAL DEVICE

Technical Field

[I] The present invention relates mobile terminal power up by an external device. Background Art

[2] The background art technologies related to mobile terminals do not sufficiently address the issues related to mobile terminal power up by an external device, and thus do not offer appropriate solutions. Disclosure of Invention

Technical Solution

[3] The present inventor recognized some drawbacks of the background art. Based upon such recognition, the various features described hereafter have been conceived such that the mobile terminal can be turned on or powered up by an external device.

[4] A mobile terminal can be controlled, such as being turned on or powered up, according to instructions or commands provided from an external device. Upon being turned on or powered up, the mobile terminal and the external device can authenticate each other and cooperate to perform a desired function or conduct a transaction. Brief Description of the Drawings

[5] Figure 1 shows an example of how a mobile terminal and a contactless reader can cooperate with each other.

[6] Figure 2 shows an example of a smart card (UICC) 220 having a particular allocation for eight (8) physical contacts, as indicated by the chart 240.

[7] Figure 3 shows the connection of other independent devices to the mobile terminal.

Note that the connection of the device can either be wired or wireless.

[8] Figure 4 shows a table with some parameters can be used for supporting the interaction between the mobile terminal and a different device (e.g., GPS receiver, con- tactless module, etc.).

[9] Figure 5 shows an exemplary structure of a mobile terminal that implements the features of the present invention. Mode for the Invention

[10] The present disclosure claims priority benefit to U.S. Provisional Application No.

60/954,536 (filed August 7, 2007), which contents are all incorporated by reference herein.

[I I] The inventive concepts and features described herein that are related to mobile terminal power up by an externally powered device will be explained in terms of implementation for a user terminal, such as a mobile phone. However, such details are not meant to limit the various features described herein, which are applicable to other types of devices.

[12] Hereafter, the term "terminal" will be used to refer to various types of user devices, such as mobile communication terminals, user equipment (UE), mobile equipment (ME), and other devices that support various types of wireless communication technologies.

[13] The definitions of some other terms used herein are provided as follows:

[14] CLF: ContactLess Function (module)

[15] ICC: Integrated Circuit Card (smart card)

[16] ISO: International Standard Organisation.

[17] ETSI: European Telecommunication Standard Institute (that is in charge of the UICC specification).

[18] MMC: MultiMedia Card as defined by the MMC Association (By extension, the protocol can be defined on the card/reader interface).

[19] UICC: Smart card platform supporting SIM, USIM, and other applications.

[20] USB: Universal Serial Bus as defined by the USB Implementers' Forum (By extension, the protocol can be defined on the card/reader interface).

[21] USIM: Universal SIM, UICC application including parameters and tools to identify and authenticate a 3G/UMTS user and to run its applications, as specified by 3GPP.

[22] SIM: Subscriber Identity Module, UICC application including parameters and tools to identify and authenticate a GSM user and to run its applications, as specified by 3GPP.

[23] The present invention relates to mobile terminal power up by an externally powered device.

[24] It should be noted that mobile terminals under development (or to be developed in the near future) may have multiple card slots to receive more than one removable module (that could be a smart card, a SD card, etc.). Also, the contactless function module (CLF) itself may removable by being implemented on a smart card or the like.

[25] As the concepts and aspects described herein are applicable to smart cards (or other types of storage media and memories), various standards that are related to and support such smart card technologies (such as ISO/IEC, ETSI, GSM, 3GPP, 3GPP2, OMA, IEEE, etc.) are also part of the exemplary embodiments described herein. It can be understood that the above exemplary standards are not intended to be limiting, as other related standards and technologies would also be applicable to the various features and concepts described herein.

[26] For example, a smart card can be considered to have a basic platform and various applications related thereto. The standardization to support the basic platform is handled by the ETSI, while the various applications running on the platform are handled by different standard organizations. For example, the USIM and SIM features are handled by the 3GPP, the R-UIM features is handled by the 3GPP2, certain financial applications are handled by EMV (Europay™, MasterCard™, Visa™), and the like.

[27] A smart card (also referred to as a chip card, an integrated circuit card (ICC) or the like) is defined as any pocket- sized card with embedded integrated circuits that can process information. Various ICC applications can be used to receive inputs, perform processing thereon, and deliver outputs. There are two types of ICCs, namely memory cards and microprocessor cards. Memory cards contain non- volatile memory storage components, and some logic circuitry for security. Microprocessor cards contain volatile memory and microprocessor components. Such cards may be made of plastic or some other appropriate material and may have an embedded hologram or other security device to avoid counterfeiting.

[28] Smart cards may be categorized as having a contact interface, a contactless interface, or both. These smart cards typically do not have their own battery or power source.

[29] A contact-type smart card has a stamp (typically made of gold) that makes physical contact with electrical connectors of a smart card reader upon insertion of the smart card, such that information can be read from and written to the chip.

[30] A contactless-type smart card communicates with a card reader through radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. Such contactless-type smart cards may also use near field communication (NFC), which is a short-range wireless communication technology that allows data exchanging between devices over a relatively short distance. NFC technology is based on RFID, which makes it compatible with the existing contactless infrastructure already in use for public transportation and payment applications. Also, in a contactless-type smart card, an inductor element can be used to capture and rectify incident RF signals in order to power the integrated circuits in the smart card.

[31] A dual- interface card, namely, a smart card implemented with contactless and contact interfaces, may use shared storage and processing.

[32] The term "contactless" may be used in reference to certain technologies, such as a contactless smart card, a proximity card, contactless payment, radio-frequency identification (RFID), near field communication (NFC), and the like.

[33] The current standard for contactless smart card communications is ISO/IEC 14443 that defines two types of contactless cards (Types A and B) and allows for contactless communications at a distance of up to about 10 centimeters.

[34] To provide enhanced services and applications, more and more terminals will implement to so-called contactless features. Such enhanced services can support transportation applications (e.g., fare payments for riding the subway, metro, buses, etc.), e- purses (e.g., electronic financial transactions, e-banking, etc.), and the like. [35] The principle of the contactless feature is that a relatively low range medium is used between the terminal and a reader (for instance, a metro/subway turnstile or gate) to execute a fee transaction, to identify the user, or to perform some other type of function or application.

[36] For security and service management reasons, it is likely that the UICC (the telecommunication smart card supporting SIM/USIM) will manage at least part of the con- tactless services/applications, therefore implementations must consider a physical or logical interface with the UICC.

[37] For technical reasons (such as, electromagnetic constraints (EMC), antenna implementation, etc.), it is impossible (or at least very difficult) to implement all (or the desired or necessary) contactless features in the smart card (UICC). At least part of such features shall be supported in a contactless function module (i.e., a functional entity implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof to support contactless services and/or applications), which is part of the terminal.

[38] Figure 1 shows an example of how a mobile terminal and a contactless reader can cooperate with each other. The mobile terminal 100 has a contactless module 110 that interacts with a smart card 120 and with various terminal resources 130. When the mobile terminal 100 is placed at or near a contactless reader 140, wireless communications can be performed with the contactless module 110 via a wireless (or contactless) interface 150.

[39] As an example of a smart card 120, the UICC is a smart card platform that supports various telecommunication applications, such as SIM (for GSM) or USIM (for 3G). The UICC can also support other types of applications. The UICC is the evolution of the GSM SIM card that was only able to run a SIM application.

[40] The UICC continues to evolve with respect to two aspects; 1) employing a large memory and high-speed interface, and 2) supporting contactless services.

[41] A large memory and high-speed interface allow the UICC to support more applications, personal data of the user, certificate procedures, etc. without having trouble in transferring large amounts of data within a reasonable timeframe.

[42] Contactless services address the market of integrating access control services, transportation passes, and the like into the mobile terminal. The UICC would be used in such cases to secure information and applications, whereas for reasons detailed below, most of the actual contactless link management (modulation, power control and management, etc.) would be made in the mobile terminal.

[43] Figure 2 shows an example of a smart card (UICC) 220 having a particular allocation for eight (8) physical contacts, as indicated by the chart 240.

[44] Although it can be understood that the features of the present invention can also be adapted and implemented to smart cards with a different number of physical contacts, the exemplary embodiments will focus on an 8 -contact type UICC.

[45] The physical interface between the UICC and mobile terminal can be based on an

8-contact module. It is currently unlikely that more contacts can be implemented in the future. Therefore, all extensions have to be considered based on the existing contacts, and minimum backward compatibility requirements, such that a session can be always opened on the ISO T=O protocol, as defined in the ISO 7816 series.

[46] Therefore, only 3 contacts are remaining for further development. Currently, 2 contact candidates are considered for a High-Speed interface between the UICC and the terminal. Additionally, MMC can be implemented by using the C4/C6/C8 contacts, and USB can be implemented by using the C4/C8 contacts.

[47] Regarding the features of the present invention, a mobile terminal (or handset containing a contactless function module (CLF) or the like) can communicate with many external devices. However, even if the mobile terminal is turned off (or otherwise powered down), an external device (such as a GPS receiver) may need to communicate with the mobile terminal.

[48] For example, a command (or other type of instruction) to the mobile terminal may need to be sent (i.e., to turn on or sufficiently power up the mobile terminal itself or certain components therein) such that a point-of-sale (PoS) transaction can be made. This may be achieved by allowing the external device or an internal component in the mobile terminal (such as a contactless function module: CLF) to appropriately turn on or power up the mobile terminal.

[49] If the mobile terminal is powered down (i.e., operating at reduced low power, such as in deep sleep mode), the contactless function module (CLF) or other component may utilize some of the mobile terminal power to detect or receive signals and commands from the external device.

[50] Alternatively, the CLF or other component may have its own dedicated power source, such that signals or commands from the external device can be properly detected and received, even if the mobile terminal itself is turned off.

[51] Possibly, the CLF or other component may utilize a small amount of power that is induced from electromagnetic (EM) fields or radio frequency (RF) signals that are detected when the mobile terminal is placed near a contactless reader (such as a PoS terminal) or the like.

[52] However, such sending of commands must consider various security issues, as unauthorized persons (such as, hackers, malicious user, etc.) should not be able to send such commands to turn on (or power up) the mobile terminal at will. As such, a procedure to perform pairing (which refers to allowing the mobile terminal and an external device to check and authorize each other), or requesting user confirmation for such commands, or some other authentication mechanism would be needed. [53] The present invention is based on two reasonable assumptions. First, the mobile terminals, even when switched off, have some components that are activated. For instance, a clock or time function is enabled, detection of some keyboard functions (including the switch on button) is possible, and the like. Second, the independent device is not a complete slave of the mobile terminal. For instance, the device is able to power-up the interface with the mobile terminal to communicate with it.

[54] The mobile terminal can be connected to more and more other separately (external or internally built) powered devices. Those devices have the possibility to work independently of the mobile phone, but also can interact with the mobile terminal or with the user through the mobile terminal.

[55] A typical case is a contactless (function) module that can be powered by electromagnetic fields and work while the mobile terminal itself is out of battery or is switched off.

[56] Some of those external terminal based applications (i.e., application that are not an internal part of the mobile terminal) can require at a certain stage an interaction with the mobile terminal, for instance, if user interaction is needed. If the terminal is switched off, such user interaction would be impossible.

[57] Thus, one principle of this invention is to define mechanisms that would allow an external (or internally built) powered devices to switch on the mobile terminal (or otherwise active certain parts of the mobile terminal) when user interaction or a particular interface is required.

[58] More and more independent devices can be connected to the mobile terminal basic functions. These devices have their own functions and can interact with the mobile terminal to execute extended functions. Some examples of such extended functions include GPS applications and contactless applications.

[59] A GPS (or other external) device can work in a stand alone mode, but can have extended functions in conjunction with the mobile terminal, such that various types of location-based services, traffic information, and the like are provided. It should be noted that technologies related to GPS, such as, Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS) technologies (i.e., positioning and location based services based on Wi-Fi technology) may also be supported.

[60] A Contactless (function) Module (CLF) integrated into the mobile terminal can work in a stand-alone mode to grant access to transportation systems or be used as an e- purse (i.e., to make financial transactions). However, its use is enhanced by interacting with the user through the mobile terminal interface (e.g., display and keyboard), such that PIN identification (or password entry), giving some information to the user about the remaining credit, and the like can be supported.

[61] Figure 3 shows the connection of other independent devices to the mobile terminal. Note that the connection of the device can either be wired or wireless.

[62] A mobile terminal 300 may cooperate with a contactless reader 340 via an interface

350. The mobile terminal 300 may have a contactless module (CLF) 310 that cooperates with a secure element 320 (smart card, UICC, SD card, etc.), and terminal resources 330. The mobile terminal 300 may communicate with numerous devices (Device #1 (380), ..., Device #N(390)) via a wired or wireless connection.

[63] The present invention deals with devices that have their own power supply, that rely on the mobile terminal power supply, or that are based on power generated from electromagnetic fields. Thus, such devices have the ability of working independently of the status (state, facility, etc.) of the mobile terminal.

[64] Most of these devices support applications specific to their functions that can be extended by the use of the mobile terminal, even though in some cases, such application may be successfully performed without any interaction with the mobile terminal.

[65] To promote a better understanding, only two examples that are most likely to be integrated in most mobile terminals (i.e., the contactless module and the GPS receiver) will be considered and explained herein. However, the concepts of the present invention can easily be extended to any type of (external) device.

[66] In some cases (for instance, a Bluetooth™ connection), there are already means (or mechanism) to pair together two or more devices in order to secure the interaction therebetween. Thus, such concept of device pairing in order to ensure secure transaction between the devices should be implemented.

[67] The present invention addresses the issue of applications running on independent devices (e.g., a GPS receiver, a Contactless Module, etc.) and requiring, at a certain stage, extended possibilities using a mobile terminal. If the mobile terminal is switched off, there is currently no way (besides the particular user interaction involved in switching on the mobile terminal) to perform a desired application successfully.

[68] On top of that, the present invention addresses several aspects related to this kind of interaction between the terminal and an independent device, such as security related issues (e.g., PIN presentation, device pairing, user confirmation, etc.) and the like.

[69] The currently available designs for mobile terminals only allow the awakening of a switched off terminal by either detecting user inputs on a specific input device (such as a keyboard, a keypad, a switch, a button, etc.) or detecting a specific event (such as an alarm clock function that wakes up the terminal). This means that for most implementations, the off mode of the mobile terminal is actually a deep sleep mode (or energy saving mode), that can be interrupted (or woken up) by only by a limited set of events.

[70] One principle of this invention is to add at least one new event and the related API which would allow any connected device (despite the type of connection being used) to wake-up the terminal. As the terminal is turned off, there is a possibility that a Power Management Unit (PMU) or similar power controller in the mobile terminal cannot supply any current (or power) to the external device. This could be a limitation, where for some implementations, only the devices powered independently of the terminal (i.e. by their own battery or by an external power supply) would be able to work.

[71] Thus according to the present invention, a device that requires activation from the mobile terminal only needs to send (or otherwise inform about) the corresponding event to the terminal to wake it up, before initiating the desired communication and perform interaction with the mobile terminal.

[72] Some additional features that are supported according to the present invention will be explained.

[73] 1) Other interaction features

[74] The same way the independent device is able to switch on the mobile terminal, other features can be activated and/or deactivated. For instance, a feature for switching off or powering down the terminal can be implemented with the present invention. A typical implementation (or use case) is when a GPS receiver needs to access a traffic information server. In such case, the GPS receiver can switch on (or power up) the mobile terminal to get the information and then switch off the mobile terminal thereafter, such that the mobile terminal can return back to its previous (or preferred) state (i.e., mobile terminal switched off or powered down state).

[75] 2) User parameters

[76] The user can program (or make certain settings for) the independent device and the mobile terminal (or both) to specify how the terminal and the device are to interact. The mobile terminal could include a list of the devices that are allowed interaction and switch on accordingly. Furthermore, the list can be enhanced with additional information (such as a set of interaction rights) specified for each device.

[77] Figure 4 shows a table with some parameters can be used for supporting the interaction between the mobile terminal and a different device (e.g., GPS receiver, con- tactless module, etc.).

[78] 3) User warning for action

[79] The mobile terminal can include a warning system (that provides outputs to the user in a visual, audible, and/or tactile manner) so that the user is aware that an independent device requested the mobile terminal to be switched on or powered up in order to perform a specific function. A user confirmation (such as password entry, biometrics confirmation, etc.) may be required in some cases, which means the user shall be notified that an action is requested. [80] 4) PIN authentication

[81] If the user did not de-activate a PIN code (or other phone lock function) to switch on the terminal, either he will have to be warned in order to enter the appropriate code or a system can be implemented such that the independent device itself can provide the PIN code (or other phone unlock means) to the mobile terminal. In this case, the independent device may have to be configured by the user with the information of the PIN code (or the like) that shall be stored in a secure memory location of the device to reduce the risk of security leaks or undesirable exposure of such sensitive information.

[82] A more elaborate approach would be to grant a specific access condition (and related

PIN code) to the independent device in order to allow access the terminal. Such would have some similarities to the existing pairing system used in Bluetooth™ technology. The mobile terminal and the device have been presented to each other at least one time, and the user could make the choice of authorizing one to interact with the other. This means that the mobile terminal will get a new identification PIN code (or other authorization means).

[83] 5) Device / Mobile terminal mutual authentication

[84] In order to ensure that a system where two devices can communicate independently of any user entered authorization, an appropriate security mechanism can be introduced. The easiest way of doing so would be to pair the two devices (or perform some other access authorization procedure), and then each device can keep track of a list of authorized accesses. For instance, the independent device can keep track of a list of unique identifiers (such as, IMEI or the like) of the mobile terminals that it can control (i.e., switch on, power up, switch off, power down, etc.) .

[85] To further strengthen such system, a mutual authentication mechanism can be implemented based on a list of paired devices maintained both sides (the independent device has a list of the accessible mobile terminals and accordingly, the mobile terminal has a list of authorized independent devices). The list is checked by both sides when pairing is attempted. The exchanges can be secured by a ciphering mechanism that itself is out of the scope of this proposal.

[86] This may be less applicable to internally built devices (like a contactless module), as security is less of a concern in such case.

[87] 6) Error handling

[88] Upon receipt of a wake-up event, the mobile terminal can send back errors (or other types of information) that should be interpreted by the requesting device. The output of the interpretation can be used by the application on the device and possibly the user can be warned as a result thereof.

[89] The acknowledgement from the terminal to a device request should include at least several parameters. Some examples would be as follows: [90] (1) Error - No answer from terminal: this parameter may be used for terminals not implementing the requested feature, but could also be used when the battery is at a too low level to enable terminal operations.

[91] (2) Correct behavior (mobile switched on): this parameter may be used to provide confirmation to the user.

[92] (3) Warning - PIN needed: this parameter may be used to inform the user about entering a password or security code.

[93] (4) Error - device not allowed to make this: this parameter may be used to inform the user.

[94] Figure 5 shows an exemplary structure of a mobile terminal that implements the features of the present invention.

[95] The mobile terminal 500 may include a device 510 that allows communication between the mobile terminal 500 an external device(s) 590. The device 510 may communicate with a secure element 520 (such as a smart card, UICC, etc.) and terminal resources 530 via an interface 502.

[96] The device 510 may have a first module 512 for receiving a remote control signal from an external device 590 when the mobile terminal is switched off or powered down; a second module 514 for authorizing the external device 590; and a third module 516 for switching on or powering up the mobile terminal 500 based upon the remote control signal received via the first module 512 to allow the mobile terminal 500 to communicate with the external device 590.

[97] The first module 512 may be part of a contactless function (CLF) module 511. The second and third modules (514, 516) may be part of the terminal itself. The second module 514 may support user authentication techniques using security codes and mechanisms. The device 510 may further comprise: a power source 518 that is different from a battery 540 of the mobile terminal 500. The first, second, and third modules (512, 514, 516) may support at least one of positioning and location-based services, contactless transactions, a wirelessly activated function, application, employing near-field communication (NFC) techniques, and user applications for business or personal use.

[98] Among the many practical implementations (or use cases) that can be achieved by using the concepts of the present invention, two possible situations will be described.

[99] As case 1, the user would like to pay with his contactless service equipped mobile terminal. Even if the mobile terminal is switched off, the contactless transaction can be initiated with the secure element (i.e., smart card, UICC, etc.) using the power inducted from electromagnetic fields (or radio frequency signals) detected near the mobile terminal. When the application comes at a point where the user needs to provide verification with his PIN code (or the like), use of the mobile terminal display is required. The contactless module then switches the mobile terminal on or at least activates the necessary components to allow the display screen to operate.

[100] As case 2, the user drives his car that is equipped with a GPRS enabled GPS device. The user forgot to carry his mobile terminal, which was left at home and even turned off. The GPS device is activated with a traffic control system and tries to connect with the mobile terminal to access a traffic information server. Using the present invention, the GPS device has the ability to turn on (or power up) the mobile terminal and get the desired traffic information from the server.

[101] The present invention allows improved flexibility in the use of multiple devices that can interact with the mobile terminal. Namely, various features from the external devices could be enabled even though at the beginning of using an application, all the elements (of the mobile terminal) are not available due to low power or power being turned off.

[102] Also, improved convenience for the end-user is provided, because the user need not care about the actual state (switched on or off) of all the devices, because a main device (such as the contactless module, GPS receiver, etc.) is able to manage the mobile terminal.

[103] Additionally, the interaction between devices can be performed in a more secure manner, which gives the possibility that one device is able to activate one or more other devices with some security policy being guaranteed.

[104] As described thus far, the concepts and features related to mobile power up by con- tactless module can also be summed up as follows.

[105] The present invention provides a mobile terminal comprising: a remote control module that is provided within or outside the mobile terminal, wherein the remote control module performs communication, in a wired or wireless manner, with multiple external devices or applications; outputs, to the mobile terminal, data or signals exchanged with the external devices or applications; and interprets the (data or) signals to control particular functions of the mobile terminal. Here, the remote control module has a power supply (= battery or RF field)

[106] Also, the present invention provides a method of remote operation for a mobile terminal, the method comprising: if an external device should remotely control the mobile terminal, performing, at a remote control module, an authentication procedure for an external device; if the external device is an authenticated device, interpreting the control signals or commands sent from the external device and controlling the functions of the mobile terminal corresponding with the commands; and if the external device is not an authenticated device or if the requested (control signals or) commands cannot be performed, performing an error procedure.

[107] Additionally, the present invention provides a communication system, comprising: a terminal having a power supply that can be turned off or powered down; and an independent module cooperating with the terminal, wherein the independent module has a power source independent of the power supply of the terminal, that turns on or powers up the terminal or certain components thereof in order to perform communication.

[108] The independent module is an external remote device. The external remote device supports positioning and location-based service technology. The independent module is an internal device. The internal device is a contactless function (CLF) module that supports contactless transactions. The communication is related to at least one of financial transactions, GPS related services, and user applications for business or personal use.

[109] Furthermore, the present invention provides a method of communication between a terminal and an external device, the method comprising: receiving a remote control signal from an external device when the terminal is switched off; authorizing the external device in response to the received remote control signal; and switching on the terminal based upon the received remote control signal (through CLF) to allow the terminal to communicate with the external device.

[110] The method further comprises: receiving user authentication before switching on or powering up the terminal. The steps are performed by using a power source that is separate from the battery of the terminal. The power source is a dedicated battery or a current supply induced from electromagnetic (EM) fields or radio frequency (RF) signals detected by the terminal. The remote control signal is received via a contactless function (CLF) module.

[I l l] Moreover, the present invention provides a device that allows communication between a mobile terminal and an external device, the device comprising: a first module for receiving a remote control signal from an external device when the mobile terminal is switched off or powered down; a second module for authorizing the external device; and a third module for switching on or powering up the mobile terminal based upon the remote control signal received via the first module to allow the mobile terminal to communicate with the external device.

[112] The first module is part of a contactless function (CLF) module. The second and third modules are part of the terminal itself. The second module supports user authentication techniques using security codes and mechanisms. The device may further comprise: a power source that is different from a battery of the mobile terminal. The first, second, and third modules support at least one of positioning and location-based services, contactless transactions, a wirelessly activated function, application, employing near-field communication (NFC) techniques, and user applications for business or personal use. [113] Also, the present invention provides a method of performing remote control of a mobile terminal, the method comprising: detecting a control command from another device when the mobile terminal is in a particular power mode; authenticating the another device in response to the detected control command; and controlling at least one operation of the mobile terminal based upon the received control command to allow signal communication with the authenticated another device.

[114] The particular power mode refers to at least one situation among the mobile terminal being turned off, having relatively low power, having battery problems, in sleep mode, and in power saving mode. The authenticating step involves user verification performed via the mobile terminal in a manual or automatic manner. The step of controlling at least one operation of the mobile terminal is related to at least one of adjusting a power supply for the mobile terminal, activating or deactivating a mobile terminal function, and accessing information from a component in the mobile terminal. The another device supports one or more functions performed via the signal communication with the mobile terminal, wherein such functions are related to at least one of financial transactions, location-based services, Internet content based services, and user applications for business or personal use. Industrial Applicability

[115] The features and concepts herein are applicable to and can be implemented for various types of user devices (e.g., mobile terminals, handsets, wireless communication devices, etc.) and/or entities that can support different types of air interfaces, protocols, and applications used in wireless communications.

[116] The described concepts of mobile terminal power up by an external device can be used in a wide variety of fields, such as financial applications (e.g., credit cards, ATM cards, fuel cards, etc.), service subscriptions (SIM cards for mobile phones, public transportation passes, etc.), identification applications (e.g., personal electronic ID cards, healthcare cards, etc.), security applications (e.g., biometric passports, cryptographic pass cards, employee badges, etc.), and the like.

[117] As the various concepts and features described herein may be embodied in several forms without departing from the characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its scope as defined in the appended claims. Therefore, all changes and modifications that fall within such scope or equivalents thereof are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.

Claims

[I] A communication system, comprising: a terminal having a power supply that can be turned off or powered down; and an independent module cooperating with the terminal, wherein the independent module has a power source independent of the power supply of the terminal, that turns on or powers up the terminal or certain components thereof in order to perform communication. [2] The system of claim 1, wherein the independent module is an external remote device. [3] The system of claim 2, wherein the external remote device supports positioning and location-based service technology.

[4] The system of claim 1, wherein the independent module is an internal device.

[5] The system of claim 4, wherein the internal device is a contactless function

(CLF) module that supports contactless transactions. [6] The system of claim 1, wherein the communication is related to at least one of financial transactions, GPS related services, and user applications for business or personal use. [7] A method of communication between a terminal and an external device, the method comprising: receiving a remote control signal from an external device when the terminal is switched off; authorizing the external device in response to the received remote control signal; and switching on the terminal based upon the received remote control signal to allow the terminal to communicate with the external device. [8] The method of claim 7, further comprising: receiving user authentication before switching on or powering up the terminal. [9] The method of claim 7, wherein the steps are performed by using a power source that is separate from the battery of the terminal. [10] The method of claim 9, wherein the power source is a dedicated battery or a current supply induced from electromagnetic (EM) fields or radio frequency

(RF) signals detected by the terminal.

[I I] The method of claim 7, wherein the remote control signal is received via a contactless function (CLF) module.

[12] A device that allows communication between a mobile terminal and an external device, the device comprising: a first module for receiving a remote control signal from an external device when the mobile terminal is switched off or powered down; a second module for authorizing the external device; and a third module for switching on or powering up the mobile terminal based upon the remote control signal received via the first module to allow the mobile terminal to communicate with the external device.

[13] The device of claim 12, wherein the first module is part of a contactless function

(CLF) module.

[14] The device of claim 12, wherein the second and third modules are part of the terminal itself.

[15] The device of claim 12, wherein the second module supports user authentication techniques using security codes and mechanisms.

[16] The device of claim 12, further comprising: a power source that is different from a battery of the mobile terminal.

[17] The device of claim 16, wherein the first, second, and third modules support at least one of positioning and location-based services, contactless transactions, a wirelessly activated function, application, employing near-field communication (NFC) techniques, and user applications for business or personal use.

[18] A method of performing remote control of a mobile terminal, the method comprising: detecting a control command from another device when the mobile terminal is in a particular power mode; authenticating the another device in response to the detected control command; and controlling at least one operation of the mobile terminal based upon the received control command to allow signal communication with the authenticated another device.

[19] The method of claim 18, wherein the particular power mode refers to at least one situation among the mobile terminal being turned off, having relatively low power, having battery problems, in sleep mode, and in power saving mode.

[20] The method of claim 18, wherein the authenticating step involves user verification performed via the mobile terminal in a manual or automatic manner.

[21] The method of claim 18, wherein the step of controlling at least one operation of the mobile terminal is related to at least one of adjusting a power supply for the mobile terminal, activating or deactivating a mobile terminal function, and accessing information from a component in the mobile terminal.

[22] The method of claim 18, wherein the another device supports one or more functions performed via the signal communication with the mobile terminal, wherein such functions are related to at least one of financial transactions, location-based services, Internet content based services, and user applications for business or personal use.