Link emission control

• US 10,236,936 B2
• Filed: 07/29/2016
• Issued: 03/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Molex LLC (KOCH Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Keyssa, Inc.
• Inventors: McCormack, Gary D., Kyles, Ian A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thien M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Habib, Asifa
• Application Number:
  US15/224,435
• Publication Number:
  US 20160337005A1
• Time in Patent Office: 963 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2223/6677 for antenna, e.g. antenna included within housing of semiconductor device
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/16225 the item being non-metallic, e.g. insulating substrate with or without metallisation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/16245 the item being metallic
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/32225 the item being non-metallic, e.g. insulating substrate with or without metallisation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/32245 the item being metallic
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48227 connecting the wire to a bond pad of the item
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48247 connecting the wire to a bond pad of the item
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/73265 Layer and wire connectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/66 High-frequency adaptations
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/73 Means for bonding being of different types provided for in two or more of groups H01L24/10, H01L24/18, H01L24/26, H01L24/34, H01L24/42, H01L24/50, H01L24/63, H01L24/71
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00012 Relevant to the scope of the group, the symbol of which is combined with the symbol of this group
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/15311 being a ball array, e.g. BGA
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/3011 Impedance
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/3025 Electromagnetic shielding
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 15/00 Suppression or limitation of noise or interference by means associated with receiver H04B1/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 15/02 Reducing interference from electric apparatus by means located at or near the interfering apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/00 Near-field transmission systems, e.g. inductive or capacitive transmission systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring

Abstract

Establishing a communication link may include transmitting by a first device an unmodulated first electromagnetic EHF signal and receiving by a second device the first electromagnetic EHF signal. The second device may determine whether the received first electromagnetic EHF signal indicates that a first shield portion and a second shield portion are in alignment. The transmission of a modulated second electromagnetic EHF signal may be enabled when the received first electromagnetic EHF signal indicates that both the shield portions are in alignment and may be disabled when the received first electromagnetic EHF signal indicates that the first and second shield portions are not in alignment.

Claims

1. A second device for use in a communication link with a first device, the first device having a first shield portion, the second device comprising:

a first EHF communication unit configured to receive a first electromagnetic EHF signal transmitted by the first device;

a second shield portion that provides partial shielding for the first EHF communication unit; and

a first signal controller coupled to the first EHF communication unit and configured to;

evaluate characteristics of the received first electromagnetic EHF signal to determine whether the first shield portion of the first device and the second shield portion of the second device are in alignment; and

in response to the evaluation indicating that the first shield portion and the second shield portion are in alignment, enable transmission of a modulated second electromagnetic EHF signal by the first EHF communication unit, the first electromagnetic EHF signal being unmodulated or having a lower level of modulation than the modulated second electromagnetic EHF signal.

2. The second device of claim 1, wherein the first signal controller is further configured to determine whether the first shield portion and second shield portion are sufficiently in alignment for the first shield portion and the second shield portion to form a continuous shield.

3. The second device of claim 1, wherein the first signal controller is further configured to determine whether the first device is an acceptable device.

4. The second device of claim 3 wherein the first signal controller is further configured to determine whether an unlock code transmitted by the first device is an acceptable unlock code.

5. The second device of claim 4, wherein the first signal controller is further configured to determine whether the unlock code identifies an acceptable device.

6. The second device of claim 3, wherein the first signal controller is further configured to determine whether the received first electromagnetic EHF signal is modulated based on one or more predefined criteria.

7. The second device of claim 6, wherein the first signal controller is further configured to determine whether the received first electromagnetic EHF signal is modulated with data formatted according to an acceptable qualification pattern.

8. The second device of claim 6, wherein the first signal controller is further configured to determine whether the received first electromagnetic EHF signal is modulated with at least one of an acceptable data pattern, an acceptable data rate, an acceptable bit-error rate, and an acceptable protocol.

9. The second device of claim 6, wherein the first signal controller is further configured to determine whether the received first electromagnetic EHF signal has a strength that is greater than a predefined threshold for a predefined time period.

10. The second device of claim 3, wherein the first signal controller is further configured to determine an impedance of at least one of a first antenna of the first device and a second antenna of the second device.

11. The second device of claim 3, wherein the first signal controller is further configured to determine a time-of-flight for an electromagnetic EHF signal transmitted from the second device to the first device and retransmitted back to the second device from the first device.

12. A system comprising the second device of claim 1 and the first device, the first device comprising a second EHF communication unit configured to transmit the first electromagnetic EHF signal;

wherein the second EHF communication unit is configured to transmit the first electromagnetic EHF signal as a modulated first electromagnetic EHF signal to the first device in response to receipt by the first device of the modulated second electromagnetic EHF signal from the second device.

13. A system comprising the second device of claim 1 and the first device, the first device comprising a second EHF communication unit configured to transmit the first electromagnetic EHF signal;

wherein the first device further comprises a third EHF communication unit configured to receive the second electromagnetic EHF signal; and

the second device further comprises a fourth EHF communication unit coupled to the first signal controller and configured to transmit the second electromagnetic EHF signal.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the first device further comprises a second signal controller configured to determine whether the first device and the second device are in alignment by evaluating second characteristics of the second electromagnetic EHF signal transmitted by the fourth EHF communication unit and received by the third EHF communication unit.

15. A system comprising the second device of claim 1 and the first device, the second device further comprising a first shield portion partly surrounding the first EHF communication unit, the first device comprising a second EHF communication unit configured to transmit the first electromagnetic EHF signal;

and a second shield portion partly surrounding the second EHF communication unit;

wherein each of the first device and the second device is configured such that alignment of the first EHF communication unit and the second EHF communication unit results in substantial alignment of the first shield portion and the second shield portion.

16. The second device of claim 1 wherein the first signal controller is further configured to enable transmission of the second electromagnetic EHF signal without modulation or with low-level modulation in response to receipt by the first EHF communication unit the first electromagnetic EHF signal.

17. The second device of claim 1 wherein the first signal controller is further configured to enable transmission of the second electromagnetic EHF signal modulated with a predefined code required by the second device after the first EHF communication unit receives the first electromagnetic EHF signal as an unmodulated signal.

18. The second device of claim 17 wherein the first signal controller is further configured, after enabling transmission of the second electromagnetic EHF signal modulated with a predefined code;

to determine whether the received first electromagnetic EHF signal is modulated with a high level of modulation; and

if the received electromagnetic EHF signal is modulated with a high level of modulation, to disable transmission of the second electromagnetic EHF signal modulated with a predefined code and to enable transmission of the second electromagnetic EHF signal also with a high-level of modulation.

19. The second device of claim 1, wherein the first signal controller is further configured to:

after the enabling of transmission of a modulated second electromagnetic EHF signal, continue to receive the first electromagnetic EHF signal transmitted by the first device;

evaluate second characteristics of the received continuing first electromagnetic EHF signal to determine whether the first shield portion and the second shield portion are in alignment; and

in response to the evaluation of the second characteristics indicating that the first shield portion and the second shield portion are not in alignment, disable transmission of the modulated second electromagnetic EHF signal.

20. The second device of claim 1, wherein the modulated second electromagnetic EHF signal has electromagnetic emissions within predefined emission limits when the first shield portion and the second shield portion are in alignment and has electromagnetic emissions that exceed the predefined emission limits when the first shield portion and the second shield portion are not in alignment.

21. The second device of claim 1, wherein the modulated second electromagnetic EHF signal has a wider frequency band of emissions than the first electromagnetic EHF signal.

22. The second device of claim 21, wherein a portion of frequencies of the wider frequency band of emissions of the modulated second electromagnetic EHF signal is contained within the first and second shield portions in alignment.

23. The second device of claim 1, wherein the modulated second electromagnetic EHF signal is modulated using a higher frequency signal than the first electromagnetic EHF signal.