Patent Application
20050036630
This invention is related to an arrangement and a method for remote energy supply of an electronic information carrier by a base device according to the preamble of Claim 1.
There have been known methods and arrangements, in which an electronic information carrier containing electronic components for information processing, management or storage is supplied with energy from outside so that electrochemical energy stores, such as accumulators or batteries, in the information carrier may be dispensed with. EP 0536 430 A1 (H04B 10/00) describes a method for energy supply of a remote-control hand-held transmitter, e.g, for a motorcar locking system, in which the hand-held transmitter includes an energy store in the form of a capacitor. According to Claim 9, the recharging energy for the energy store may be transmitted in a non-contacting manner using ultrasound. Energy transmission is through the air from the car. In DE 4308372 A1 (E05B 47/00), there is shown a locking system remotely controllable by radio, light or ultrasound, in which the energy store of a portable transmitter is charged when the portable transmitter is located at least in the immediate vicinity of an energy dispenser arranged on the side of the lock. In that case, energy transmission is either inductive or by electric contact.
An arrangement for transmitting and/or receiving ultrasonic signals is shown in DE 9401489 U1 (H04B11/00). In that case, two ultrasonic modules are electrically coupled to each other through a supply lead.
In addition, other arrangements and methods form part of the state of the art, in which electronic energy stores are supplied with energy in a contacting manner through an electrically conductive connection, or in a non-contacting manner by optical as well as radio means, which has also been disclosed in the above-mentioned documents. In the so-called transponder technique, energy and information are also transmitted in a non-contacting manner using radio frequency waves. The advantage of all the arrangements and methods just mentioned is that the information carrier is maintenance-free in terms of energy store replacement, and that it is also possible to construct the information carrier so that it is simpler, more lightweight, more compact, and more enclosed, particularly in view of the capabilities offered by contemporary microelectronics and microsystems engineering.
In radio frequency transponders, in particular, energy transmission is very easy to implement. The documents mentioned above show a trend towards the non-contacting technique, as it has undisputed advantages in terms of handling comfort and flexibility.
Non-contacting methods, however, suffer under a number of safety and technical disadvantages. Any remote transmission of information through the air is subject to possible tapping by unauthorised persons, be it only to register the action as such. In addition, with passive transponders there is a temporal and spatial uncertainty about the expression of will. In contrast, an unambiguous expression of will is manifest when actively operable information carriers and the contacting technique are employed.
Both optical and radio wave methods suffer from the drawback that only non-metallic materials are suitable as a “window” behind which an energy and/or information receiver is located. As metals permit electromagnetic waves to penetrate into the surface to a very limited extent only, the usual transponder, radio, and optical methods for the transmission of energy and/or information cannot be used where the information carrier is located behind metal or within a metallic and metal-rich body, respectively. On the other hand, ultrasound penetrates through all materials. A solution as described in EP 0536 430 A1, however, would also require the provision of a “window”, either a hole or a thin membrane, in order to transmit both energy and information. In gases, sound absorption is very high, and sound energy is distributed quickly in all directions in space by reflection at solid bodies, so that it is no longer usable in a concentrated form. Therefore, a comparatively powerful acoustic energy source must be focussed and directed toward an article, if the information carrier, comprising an energy store to be charged, is located behind a thicker layer of material there.
As a result of the above disadvantages, the use of the mentioned methods is either difficult, related to major expenditure, or even impossible, if information carriers to be remotely supplied with energy are located within bodies, more particularly, within metallic bodies. Also, mounting them at unobtrusive locations, which sometimes is necessary, is possible to a limited extent only. Either the material will have to be taken into account, or the information carrier and the transmitting/receiving unit thereof will be visible from outside, respectively.
It is known that acoustic waves propagate much better in condensed substances than in gases, which is why ultrasound may be used advantageously, e.g. for underwater locating purposes. Poor sound absorption of metals further permits such solutions as described in DE 92 10 894 (H04B 11/00), where a heating pipe system in buildings is used for transmitting information.
The object of the invention is to provide an arrangement and/or a method for remote energy supply of an electronic information carrier by a base device, which ensures that the information carrier may be placed both on the surface and in the interior a functional article, completely surrounded by metallic or non-metallic material, that low-energy solutions and an expression of will related to the transmission of energy and/or information are properly realisable, that there are good conditions for obtaining miniaturised embodiments of the information carrier, and that no electrically conductive connections are required to supply the information carrier with energy.
This object is solved with an arrangement and a method according to Claim 1.
The essential advantages of the invention all result from the fact that the entire arrangement according to Claim 1 forms a mechanically coupled and, therefore, acoustically very well coupled system, whereby the method according to Claim 1 becomes realisable. When the acoustic transmitting unit of the base device, constituting the acoustic energy source, and the functional article, i.e., the article housing the information carrier, contact each other at a point of contact, an energy sink will be present at such location through which acoustic energy then may flow into the functional article. This equally applies to the junction between the functional article and the information carrier, where there is the additional fact that the energy supply unit, preferably operating in the resonant range of the sound frequency, or also in a secondary excitation, forms a particularly powerful sink and immediately absorbs a very great amount of energy. Due to the resulting potential drop, a lot of acoustic energy will always continue to flow, no matter where the information carrier is located, because the sound has good penetration through the entire body of the functional article.
A major advantage is that the functional article is essentially unlimited by neither material nor shape thereof. Limitations imposed on the placement of the information carrier would be expected only with functional articles having a large quantity of gaseous inclusions or sound absorptions caused otherwise. This does not apply to the vast majority of metallic, ceramic; composite, and plastic, including rubber, articles employed in the industry or at home.
Even if there is a bodily contact to the surface of the functional article, this will constitute a remote energy supply, up to the information carrier. Using the arrangement and method according to Claim 1, this will be feasible now even in those cases where the information carrier to be supplied is located behind thick layers of material, or is hidden anywhere inside a body. Positioning the information carrier at any location will require no particular effort, as line connections or other specific energy and information paths need not be taken into account. The only applicable condition is a good acoustic coupling, between the functional article and the acoustic energy source on the one hand, and between the information carrier and the functional article on the other, so that comparatively little primary acoustic energy can guarantee sufficient energy transmission. For that purpose, the information carrier preferably may be secured on or within the functional article by adhesive bonding, cementing, soldering, brazing, clamping, screwing or similar ways. For connecting the acoustic transmitting unit of the base device to the functional article, a surface-bodily contact will suffice, which contact, however, may be enhanced further by some force or the use of an acoustic coupling liquid. In contrast, non-contacting transmission through an air gap would require considerably higher sound energies, both for energy transmission to the information carrier and, in particular, for the information transmitting power of the information carrier. That would also be a serious obstacle to miniaturizing the information carrier.
Moreover, making the contact will always constitute an unambiguous action, thereby very well satisfying the requirement for an expression of will as defined by the object of the invention.
Other advantages offered directly or potentially by the arrangement and method according to Claim 1 include possible ways of implementing a protection of the information carrier against the risk of destruction due to mechanical, chemical, electrostatic, radiation, thermal, or other influences.
Preferably, as energy receivers of the energy supply unit in the information carrier, transducers based on piezoelectric materials are suitable, while piezomagnetic, dynamo-electric or other suitable elements may be used in principle as well, as long as they transform the energy of acoustically induced mechanical vibrations directly or indirectly into electric energy. That equally applies to the information transmitting unit of the information carrier. In information receivers, other methods are also suitable, in which physical quantities, such as capacity or resistance and others, may form the basis of a sound or vibration sensor.
In some cases, it may be beneficial in practice for the information transmitting unit, the information receiving unit, and the energy receiving unit of the information carrier to form separate elements, thus making it possible for the respective individual task to be optimised in an entirely separate manner in terms of energy, dimensioning, functional principle, frequency, etc. This is true for both the transducer and the upstream and downstream electronics, respectively. In other cases, a joint use of various components may be preferred for other reasons. In particular, though not necessarily, this may be the aim where the general focus is on miniaturising the information carrier. According to Claim 2, that will be possible, including a complete merger to form a single unit. Then, energy and information will be received through a common transducer, to be separated by a downstream electronics. Conversely, this transducer serves to transmit information.
Mounting all components of the information carrier on a common base, e.g. on a ceramic, plastic or film-type printed-circuit board, as can be implemented according to Claim 3, is favourable for various reasons, such as handling, assembly or miniaturisation. In particular, if the intention is to miniaturise the information carrier, the arrangement and method according to Claim 1 will offer best alternatives for implementation in the field of microsystems engineering according to Claim 4. As an effective transmission of both energy and information can be effected through the bodily-acoustic contact path according to Claim 1, it is possible to work with very small total energies. This implies the major advantage that all the components of the information carrier, from the transducer to capacitors as intermediate energy stores, to any electronic semiconductor components required, can be designed with very small space requirements. It is only by this approach that microsystems engineering dimensions can be accomplished, that permit accommodating all the information carrier components in an area of just a few mm2 or smaller. Semiconductor technologies used for microsystems engineering, especially silicon engineering, and microassembly engineering may be used favourably for manufacturing a subminiature information carrier to be used within the arrangement and according to the method of Claim 1.
For practical handling purposes and other reasons mentioned below, it will be useful to have the information carrier available in a compact form, e.g., in a plastic-embedded body according to Claim 5, or in the form of a capsule according to Claim 6. Then, such an information carrier could be accommodated conveniently within any bodies, i.e. the functional articles.
If necessary, it may be helpful to have another way of information transmission available in addition to the acoustic path, e.g., to transfer information to certain memory areas which cannot be erased later, prior to placement into the functional article. This will be possible by providing at least two metallic points of contact on the outside according to Claim 7, which are connected in an electrically conductive manner to electronic components of the information carrier.
The opportunities for developing information systems provided by Claim 1 are of extraordinary variety and cannot be attained by any other information system. The main reasons for restrictions in other systems are that the information carrier may not be placed into any article whatsoever, and at any “depth”, that partly a considerable amount of energy has to be used on at least one side of communication, and that energy maintenance is required, such as checking and replacing batteries. A system based on Claim 1 would solve the placement problem on the one hand, and would permit at least low-energy solutions to the overall system on the other. Basically, the solution demanding the least energy is direct electric contact. This will be possible according to Claim 8 where the two metallic parts mounted on the functional article provide another way of accessing the information carrier, if required. That will be a particular benefit in a functional article having multiple functions, such as a key according to Claim 11, if a specific lock does not include an acoustic, but only an electric information transmitting unit.
Advantageously, the metallic element according to Claim 9 may also be employed for energy saving purposes, as it can be used in a simple manner to trigger an action; for example, switching the acoustic transmitting unit of the base device on, either with a time limit or during the hold time at the contacts.
Because a system based on the arrangement and method according to Claim 1 offers a widest possible placement range for the information carriers according to Claims 1-9 compatible therewith, a large number of articles may be fitted with information carriers, preferably those based on Claims 5 and 6, at a very early stage of manufacture. Thus, according to Claim 10, it would be possible to file, read or re-write product-relevant information about the entire product life, starting from manufacture, for purposes of production, distribution, sales, servicing up to recycling, so that it will be “deeply hidden inside the product” and protected against destructive access in a very safe manner. In doing so, a chip-internal safety system may easily implement a selective read/write protection mechanism.
Another interesting opportunity arises when the arrangement and method according to Claim 1 form the basis of a locking system. Apart from conventional keys and key-ring pendants, according to Claim 11, the function of a key could be transferred easily and inconspicuously to any other article without the function thereof being recognisable from outside. Any every-day item, such as writing implements, watches, buttons, glasses, etc., would be suitable.
Specific advantages result, if pieces of jewellery according to Claim 12,and, more particularly, rings form the functional articles. These are worn closely to the body so that the risk of losing them is very small. Similarly, cards according to Claim 13, especially those having a chip card format, could be used favourably as functional articles.
The use of the arrangement and method according to Claim 1 in the automotive sector according to Claim 14 should also receive a special mention. Apart from the advantages for product description mentioned above, this would provide especially favourable benefits for the production, marketing, and service system as a whole, and for preventing and combating crime. In such a case, it would not only be the car as a general product, but also various components that could individually be provided with corresponding information carriers, which are also used in mutual communication, if necessary, through corresponding relay stations according to Claim 15, in order to fulfil additional safeguarding tasks, e.g., starting the engine only if certain or all of the information carriers are present. The combination with a ring for a finger forming the functional article offers another variant for safeguarding and operating the car in a particularly safe and elegant way.
The relay stations of Claim 15 operate as repeaters for the communicating information carriers in the various functional articles as regards information transmission, and/or they assume the energy supply function, if required. Thus, they constitute a special form of a base device.
The present invention will be explained below in greater detail with reference to an embodiment thereof.
Referring to
With the arrangement shown in
In
On the transmitting unit 3 in the form of the plate, there are provided two contacts 28 to be bridged when touched by the ring. Acting as a metallic element 31, the ring itself causes the bridging to occur. Thus, it will activate the transmitting unit 3, and the exchange of information will take place with the information carrier 5 inside the ring through the contacting acoustic path. The above-mentioned letter box does not constitute a base device 1. It only includes an electronic lock operated by the two contacts 29 which are used for transmitting both energy and information. Thus, the lock of the letter box may be opened if the two metallic parts 22 are engaged by the contacts 29.
The application of the present invention to the identification of jewellery is illustrated in
Another very practical usage is pointed out in
In summary, the embodiment shown in
List of Reference Numbers
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 197 55 893.3 | Dec 1997 | DE | national |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 09581037 | Jul 2000 | US |
| Child | 10670125 | Sep 2003 | US |
