Patent ID: 8209754

Claim:
A secure Near Field Communication (NFC) apparatus, comprising: a plug-in socket for inserting a security module; an NFC unit outside the plug-in socket, configured to communicate with an external device via non-contact NFC based on a first communication protocol, and configured to additionally communicate with the security module inserted in the socket; and a protocol matching unit outside the plug-in socket and connected between the NFC unit and the socket such that signals communicated between the NFC unit and the inserted security module pass through the protocol matching unit, wherein the inserted security module is communicated with the protocol matching unit based on a second communication protocol; wherein said protocol matching unit is configured to identify a type of the security module by communicating with the security module inserted in the plug-in socket, generate a chip identification signal related to the type of the security module, identify the first communication protocol in which signals are communicated between the NFC unit and the protocol matching unit, identify the second communication protocol in which signals are communicated between the protocol matching unit and the inserted security module, and based on the chip identification signal, determine if the first communication protocol matches the second communication protocol, wherein the protocol matching unit comprises a protocol conversion unit configured to perform protocol conversion between the first and second communication protocols in response to a determination that the first communication protocol does not match the second communication protocol; and in response to a determination that the first communication protocol matches the second communication protocol, the protocol matching unit causes signals output by the NFC unit to bypass the protocol conversion unit and to be transferred to the inserted security module without protocol conversion, and causes signals output by the inserted security module to bypass the protocol conversion unit and to be transferred to the NFC unit without protocol conversion.