Information carrier, apparatus, substrate, and system

• US 20020036977A1
• Filed: 08/27/2001
• Published: 03/28/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ukoninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Lenssen, Kars-Michiel Hubert, Hart, Cornelis Maria
• Granted Patent: US 6,986,151 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 369/273
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/045 the record carrier being of the non-contact type, e.g. RFID, and being specially adapted for attachment to a disc, e.g. a CD or DVD
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 23/28 Indicating or preventing prior or unauthorised use, e.g. cassettes with sealing or locking means, write-protect devices for discs write-protect devices for tapes G11B23/042, G11B23/08714; dummy cassettes for locking in the drive G11B33/005

Abstract

The information carrier (1) contains a storage unit (9), an integrated circuit (10) and a first and a second coupling element (31,32). Said coupling elements (31,32) are intermediate in the transfer of data and energy from a base station (50) to the integrated circuit (10) and vice versa. Between the base station (50) and said coupling elements (31,32) the transfer of data and energy is contactless, and preferably by capacitive coupling. Between at least the first (31) of and preferably both of the coupling elements (31,32) data and energy are transferred by means of capacitive coupling. The base station (50) is preferably incorporated in an apparatus (40) further containing the reading device (60) of the storage unit (9). To facilitate the capacitive coupling, the base station (50) contains a first and a second capacitor plate (54,55). The information carrier (1) and the apparatus (40) with the base station (50) containing said capacitor plates (54,55) together constitute the system, which is suitable for copy protection of the information on the storage unit (9).

Claims

1. An information carrier (1) provided with

a storage unit (9),

an integrated circuit (10), and

a first (31) and a second coupling element (32) for the transfer of data and energy between a base station (50) and the integrated circuit (10),

which first and second coupling element (31, 32) in the operational state are each coupled to both the base station (50) and the integrated circuit (10),

and which coupling elements (31, 32) are coupled contactlessly to the base station (50), while the first coupling element (31) is coupled to the integrated circuit (10) by capacitive coupling.

2. An information carrier (1) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the first (31) and the second coupling element (32) are coupled to the base station (50) by means of capacitive coupling.

3. An information carrier (1) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the first (31) and the second coupling element (32) are coupled to the base station (50) by means of inductive coupling, for which purpose the first coupling element (31) is at least partly spiraling in shape, and the second coupling element (32) is in electrical contact with the first.

4. An information carrier (1) as claimed in claim 1, 2, or 3, characterized in that the second coupling element (32) is coupled to the integrated circuit (10) by means of capacitive coupling.

5. An information carrier as claimed in claim 1, 2, or 3, characterized in that the information carrier (1) is constructed as a disc, and in that information stored in the storage unit (9) is optically readable.

6. An information carrier as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the disc comprises:

an information-carrying layer (3) provided with the storage unit (9),

a metal layer (4) serving as one of the coupling elements,

a protective layer of electrically insulating material (2), and

a layer (22) of electrically insulating material serving as the other coupling element, which layer is electrically insulated from the metal layer (4), wherein the integrated circuit (10) is present between the metal layer (4) and the layer (2) of electrically insulating material.

7. An information carrier as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that

an inner, an intermediate, and an outer ring are present on the disc, which rings are concentric,

the metal layer (4) is present in the intermediate and the outer ring, and

the layer of electrically conductive material (22) is present in the inner and the intermediate ring.

8. An information carrier as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the disc comprises an inner ring and an outer ring of conductive material, which inner ring is one of the coupling elements (31, 32), while the outer ring is the other coupling element (32, 31).

9. An information carrier as claimed in claim 6 or 8, characterized in that the conductive material is provided in the form of a conductive ink.

10. An apparatus comprising

a device for reading out information from the storage unit (9) of an information carrier (1) as claimed in claim 2, and

a base station (50) with a first and a second capacitor plate (54, 55) for the transfer of data and energy from and to the integrated circuit (10), by means of which capacitor plates (54, 55) the base station in the operational state is coupled to the first and the second coupling element (31, 32) by means of capacitive coupling.

11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that

the apparatus is suitable for use with the information carrier (1) as claimed in claim 5,

the information carrier (1) is clamped in between a carrier body (51) and a compression body (52) in operational state,

the first capacitor plate (54) forms part of the carrier body (51), and

the second capacitor plate (55) forms part of the compression body (52).

12. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that

the apparatus is provided with a first carrier body (31) for the information carrier as claimed in claim 5,

the carrier body (31) has an inner ring and an outer ring, which rings are concentric,

the first capacitor plate (54) lies inside the inner ring, and

the second capacitor plate (55) lies inside the outer ring.

13. A system of

an information carrier (1) provided with a storage unit (9), an integrated circuit (10), and a

first and a second coupling element (31, 32), and

an apparatus (40) provided with a device (60) for reading information from the storage unit (9) of the information carrier (1), further comprising a base station (50) with a first and a second capacitor plate (54, 55) for the transfer of data and energy from and to the integrated circuit (10) of the information carrier (1),

which first and second coupling element (31, 32) in the operational state are each coupled to both the base station (50) and the integrated circuit (10),

wherein said coupling elements (31, 32) are coupled to the base station (50) by means of capacitive coupling, and wherein the first coupling element (31) is coupled to the integrated circuit (10) by means of capacitive coupling.

14. A substrate (21) provided with a layer of conductive ink (22) and a glue layer (23), characterized in that

the substrate (21) is suitable for fastening to a disc-shaped information carrier (1) provided with a hole (5) centrally situated in the information carrier (1) and having a diameter, and

the substrate (21) is provided with a hole (25) having a diameter which is at least equal to the diameter of the hole (5) in the information carrier (1).