U.S. Patent No. 10,953,312: Virtual game console using multiple NFC devices simultaneously
Issued March 23, 2021, to Blok Party Inc.
Filed/Priority to July 2, 2020
Overview:
U.S. Patent No. 10,953,312 (the ‘312 patent) relates to a touchscreen console which pairs with several near-field communication (NFC) devices simultaneously. The ‘312 patent details a system with a touchscreen partitioned into zones, underneath which is a three-dimensional (3D) antenna made out of two or more NFC antennae. Each touchscreen zone is mapped to one or more of the nearest NFC antennae. The touchscreen displays a user interface while running an application and when two or more NFC devices are touching different touchscreen zones, establishes a peer-to-peer connection between them and their respective antennae. Since NFC devices are meant to be placed and moved on the touchscreen, the touchscreen is infrared to be more durable in some embodiments. The system reads NFC tag data from each NFC device and sends it to the application which then generates and displays information relative to each device on the user interface. With NFC devises as game pieces, the ‘312 patent could be used for a wide variety of games. For example, it could be used for an interactive map display in Dungeons and Dragons, tracking moves and board states in trading card games like Magic the Gathering, as well as displaying potential moves in more classic games like chess. The ‘312 patent also can maintain digital assets of collectable NFC device game pieces for fantasy sports games, in some embodiments.
Abstract:
Disclosed embodiments relate to computing devices simultaneously pairing with multiple near-field communication (NFC) devices. In one example, a system includes a processor and a touchscreen having a top layer logically partitioned into N zones overlaying a three-dimensional antenna having multiple layers together including at least N NFC antennae, and wherein the processor is configured to: map each of the N zones to one or more closest NFC antennae, display a user interface on the top layer, and when each of two or more NFC devices touches a respective touchscreen zone, select an NFC antenna to establish a peer-to-peer connection with the NFC device, read NFC tag data from the NFC device, and pass the NFC tag data to the application.
Illustrative Claim:
- A system comprising: a processor to execute an application using information stored on up to N near-field communication (NFC) devices; a touchscreen comprising a top layer logically partitioned into one or more zones; a three-dimensional (3D) antenna disposed beneath the touchscreen and comprising a plurality of stacked layers together comprising two or more NFC antennae; and wherein the processor is configured to: map each respective touchscreen zone to one or more closest NFC antennae; display a user interface during a current execution of the application via the touchscreen; and when each of two or more NFC devices are simultaneously touching a respective different touchscreen zone during display of the user interface via the touchscreen, the processor is further configured to: establish a peer-to-peer connection between each respective NFC device and a corresponding different NFC antenna mapped to the different touchscreen zone that the respective NFC device touches; read NFC tag data from each respective NFC device; pass the NFC tag data to the application; and present, via the user interface displayed on the touchscreen, information relative to each of the two or more respective touching NFC devices generated by the current execution of the application.