INFORMATION TRANSMITTING DEVICE

• US 20080159433A1
• Filed: 03/03/2008
• Published: 07/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Masaki Matsubara
• Original Assignee: Masaki Matsubara
• Inventors: MATSUBARA, Masaki
• Granted Patent: US 7,528,743 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 375/295
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04162 for exchanging data with external devices, e.g. smart pens, via the digitiser sensing hardware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/046 by electromagnetic means
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/0012 using capacitive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/0062 in RFID [Radio Frequency Identification] Systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/22 Capacitive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/77 for interrogation

Abstract

In an information transmitting device, a variable capacitor which is charged to have a predetermined voltage discharges through a predetermined resistor. Until the voltage becomes lower than a predetermined threshold voltage, the number of AC signals having a predetermined frequency is counted. Accordingly, first continuous amount information of a binary code corresponding to a writing pressure is obtained and is converted to a Gray code, which is regarded as second continuous amount information. A resonant circuit is opened or shorted in accordance with ‘0’ or ‘1’ in the second continuous amount information, so as to transmit the second continuous amount information.

Claims

1. A sensor circuit for transmission of information to an external communications device, the sensor circuit comprising:

a resonant circuit;

a power extracting circuit for extracting power for driving each component from an induced voltage which is generated in the resonant circuit due to externally transmitted electromagnetic waves;

a digital information generator for detecting analog information and generating digital information which corresponds to the analog information and which includes a binary code of two bits or more; and

a resonance characteristic controller for bringing the resonant circuit into a short-circuited state in accordance with any one of ‘

0’ and

‘

1’

of the binary code in synchronization with at least part of the electromagnetic waves,

wherein, by transmitting the digital information including the binary code, only one bit of the binary code changes when the corresponding analog information changes, a variation in the power supply voltage is suppressed and the analog information is stably detected.

2. The sensor circuit according to claim 1, wherein a Gray code is used as the binary code.

3. The sensor circuit according to claim 2, wherein the digital information generator comprises:

coding means for converting the analog information to a binary code; and

code converting means for converting the binary code to a Gray code.

4. The sensor circuit according to claim 3, wherein the coding means converts the analog information to a time period and generates a binary code by counting AC signals having a predetermined frequency during the time period.

5. A method of operating a sensor circuit for transmission of information to an external communication device, the method comprising:

receiving electromagnetic waves at a resonant circuit, the electromagnetic waves inducing a current in the resonant circuit;

extracting power from the induced current for driving each component of the sensor circuit;

detecting analog information and generating digital information therefrom, the digital information having a plurality of bits being represented in a code having a hamming distance of one; and

modifying characteristics of the resonant circuit in accordance with values of the bits o f digital information in synchronization with at least part of the electromagnetic waves for transmitting the digital information to the external communication device.

6. A sensor circuit for transmission of information to an external communications device, the sensor circuit comprising:

a resonant circuit for receiving electromagnetic waves, the electromagnetic waves inducing a current in the resonant circuit;

a power extracting circuit for extracting power from the inducted current for driving each component of the sensor circuit;

a sensor for sensing analog information;

a digital information generator for generating digital information from the sensed analog information, the digital information having a plurality of bits being represented in a code having a hamming distance of one; and

a resonance characteristic controller for modifying characteristics of the resonant circuit in accordance with values of the bits of digital information in synchronization with at least part of the electromagnetic waves for transmitting the digital information to the external communications device.

7. The sensor circuit according to claim 6, wherein, by transmitting the digital information including the code, only one bit of the code changes when the corresponding analog information changes, a variation in the power supply voltage is suppressed and the analog information is stably detected.

8. The sensor circuit according to claim 6, wherein a Gray code is used as the code.

9. The sensor circuit according to claim 8, wherein the digital information generator comprises:

coding means for converting the analog information to a binary code; and

code converting means for converting the binary code to a Gray code.

10. The sensor circuit according to claim 9, wherein the coding means converts the analog information to a time period and generates a binary code by counting AC signals having a predetermined frequency during the time period.

11. The sensor circuit according to claim 6, wherein the resonance characteristic controller brings the resonant circuit into a short-circuited state in accordance with changing 0 and 1 values of the code.

12. The sensor circuit according to claim 11, wherein the resonance characteristic controller comprises a switch that toggles between an ON state in which the resonant circuit is short-circuited and an OFF state in which the resonant circuit is not short-circuited, the switch toggling when the values of consecutive bits change.

13. The sensor circuit according to claim 6, wherein the resonance characteristic controller switches the resonant circuit between an operating state and a non-operating state to transmit bit values of the digital information.

14. The sensor circuit according to claim 6, further comprising:

a variable capacitor associated with the digital information generator, the variable capacitor storing a pressure value as the analog information.

15. The sensor circuit according to claim 6, wherein consecutive digital values of the code differ by a single bit value.

16. The sensor circuit according to claim 6, wherein the digital information generator comprises:

a variable capacitor for detecting the analog information as a change in capacitance, the variable capacitor being associated with a predetermined resistance for forming an RC circuit having a time constant dependent on a current value of the variable capacitor;

a counter for counting cycles occurring during a time period prescribed by the time constant and for determining the counted cycles as an intermediate representation of the analog information; and

a coding means for converting the intermediate representation to binary code.

17. The sensor circuit according to claim 6, further comprising:

a voltage detector for detecting a voltage at the resonant circuit to determine whether the sensor circuit is within a predetermined distance of the external communications device; and

a microcomputer for controlling the components of the sensor circuit to enter a sleep mode in which power consumption is reduced when the sensor circuit is determined by the voltage detector not to be within the predetermined distance of the external communications device.