Wireless system, semiconductor device, and communication device

• US 20080186182A1
• Filed: 01/30/2008
• Published: 08/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Kurokawa, Yoshiyuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,058,997 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/183 by voting, the voting not being performed by the redundant components
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0724 the arrangement being a circuit for communicating at a plurality of frequencies, e.g. for managing time multiplexed communication over at least two antennas of different types

Abstract

A semiconductor device is sometimes used in a bad environment like high temperature, low temperature, and high humidity, and is also used by being attached to a spot to which mechanical stress is added. Therefore, in order to improve reliability of a system using the semiconductor device, extremely high durability is required for the semiconductor device. However, since inexpensive price is also required for the semiconductor, a costly process cannot be used to improve durability. A wireless system includes a semiconductor device including a plurality of functional circuits each having the same function, and a communication device. The semiconductor device modulates and transmits a processing result of each functional circuit using subcarriers each having different frequencies. The communication device extracts a normal response by majority decision from a processing result of each functional circuit received. In this manner, a wireless system with high durability can be provided at low cost.

Claims

1. A wireless system comprising:

a semiconductor device comprising a plurality of functional circuits and configured to transmit signals processed by the plurality of functional circuits; and

a communication device comprising an arithmetic processing circuit and configured to receive the signals processed by the plurality of functional circuits,

wherein the signals are transmitted with subcarriers whose frequencies differ in each of the plurality of functional circuits, and

wherein the arithmetic processing circuit in the communication device performs a majority decision process to the signals.

2. The wireless system according to claim 1, wherein the communication device comprises a computation processor.

3. The wireless system according to claim 1, wherein the arithmetic processing circuit is connected to a server provided outside of the communication device.

4. The wireless system according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor device is included in an IC label or an IC card.

5. The wireless system according to claim 1,

wherein the semiconductor device comprises a transmission/reception circuit, and

wherein the transmission/reception circuit comprises a modulation circuit configured to transmit the subcarriers each having different frequencies.

6. A wireless system comprising:

a plurality of semiconductor devices each comprising a functional circuit and configured to transmit signal processed by the functional circuit; and

a communication device comprising an arithmetic processing circuit and configured to receive the signals processed by the functional circuits in the plurality of semiconductor devices,

wherein the signals are transmitted with subcarriers whose frequencies differ in each of the functional circuits in the plurality of semiconductor devices, and

wherein the arithmetic processing circuit in the communication device performs a majority decision process to the signals.

7. The wireless system according to claim 6, wherein the communication device comprises a computation processor.

8. The wireless system according to claim 6, wherein the arithmetic processing circuit is connected to a server provided outside of the communication device.

9. The wireless system according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of semiconductor devices are included in an IC label or an IC card.

10. The wireless system according to claim 6,

wherein each of the plurality of semiconductor devices comprises a transmission/reception circuit, and

wherein the transmission/reception circuit comprises a modulation circuit configured to transmit the subcarriers each having different frequencies.

11. A wireless system comprising:

a semiconductor device comprising a plurality of functional circuits and a first transmission/reception circuit comprising a modulation circuit; and

a communication device comprising an arithmetic processing circuit and a second transmission/reception circuit,

wherein a signal comprising processing results of the plurality of functional circuits is transmitted from the second transmission/reception circuit to the first transmission/reception circuit with the plurality of subcarriers transmitted from the modulation circuit, each of the plurality of subcarriers having different frequencies for each of the processing results, and

wherein the arithmetic processing circuit performs a majority decision process to the signal transmitted from the first transmission/reception circuit.

12. The wireless system according to claim 11, wherein the communication device comprises a computation processor.

13. The wireless system according to claim 11, wherein the arithmetic processing circuit is connected to a server provided outside of the communication device.

14. The wireless system according to claim 11, wherein the semiconductor device is included in an IC label or an IC card.

15. A semiconductor device comprising:

a plurality of functional circuits;

a controller configured to read data stored in each of the plurality of functional circuits; and

a transmission/reception circuit,

wherein the transmission/reception circuit is configured to transmit the data as a processing signal superimposed with subcarriers whose frequencies differ in each of the plurality of functional circuits to a communication device, and

wherein the transmission/reception circuit is configured to receive a signal of processed data output according to majority decision processed data which is obtained by a majority decision process in an arithmetic processing circuit comprised in the communication device.

16. The semiconductor device according to claim 15, wherein the communication device comprises a computation processor configured to output the processed data according to the majority decision processed data.

17. The semiconductor device according to claim 15,

wherein the arithmetic processing circuit is connected to a server provided outside of the communication device, and

wherein the arithmetic processing circuit output the processed data according to the majority decision processed data.

18. An IC label or an IC card comprising the semiconductor device according to claim 15.

19. The semiconductor device according to claim 15,

wherein the transmission/reception comprises a modulation circuit configured to transmit the subcarriers each having different frequencies.

20. A communication device comprising:

a transmission/reception circuit configured to receive a processing signal from a semiconductor device comprising a plurality of functional circuits, the processing signal superimposed with subcarriers whose frequencies differ in each of the plurality of functional circuits, and configured to transmit processed data to the semiconductor device; and

an arithmetic processing circuit configured to perform a majority decision process to the processing signal received at the transmission/reception circuit, and configured to output majority decision processed data.

21. The communication device according to claim 20, further comprising a computation processor configured to output the processed data according to the majority decision processed data.

22. The communication device according to claim 20, wherein the arithmetic processing circuit is provided outside of the communication device, and is connected to a sever configured to output the processed data according to the majority decision processed data.

23. The communication device according to claim 20, wherein the semiconductor device is included in an IC label or an IC card.

24. A communication device comprising:

a transmission/reception circuit configured to receive a processing signal from a plurality of semiconductor devices comprising a functional circuit, the processing signal superimposed with subcarriers whose frequencies differ in each of the functional circuits in the plurality of semiconductor devices, and configured to transmit processed data to the plurality of semiconductor devices; and

an arithmetic processing circuit configured to perform a majority decision process to the processing signal received at the transmission/reception circuit, and configured to output majority decision processed data.

25. The communication device according to claim 24, further comprising a computation processor configured to output the processed data according to the majority decision processed data.

26. The communication device according to claim 24, wherein the arithmetic processing circuit is provided outside of the communication device, and is connected to a sever configured to output the processed data according to the majority decision processed data.

27. The communication device according to claim 24, wherein the plurality of semiconductor devices are included in an IC label or an IC card.