METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DATA COMMUNICATION USING A BODY

• US 20090004982A1
• Filed: 09/12/2008
• Published: 01/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
• Original Assignee: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
• Inventors: KIM, Young-Roh, CHEUNG, Han-, KIM, Byung-Kyu, KIM, Jin-Seok, PARK, Jong-Oh, CHO, Won-Woo, YOON, Nan-Young, KIM, Tae-Song
• Granted Patent: US 8,155,586 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/128
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00016 using wireless means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00036 Means for power saving, e.g. sleeping mode
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/041 Capsule endoscopes for imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0028 Body tissue as transmission medium, i.e. transmission systems where the medium is the human body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0031 Implanted circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/073 Intestinal transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 13/005 Transmission systems in which the medium consists of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/903 Radio telemetry

Abstract

A portable device for data communication using a body as a conductor to transmit data to a receiver, the portable device includes a data receiving unit to receive data, a controller unit to control processing of data to be transmitted, a current limiting circuit to limit a current of a signal corresponding to the data to be transmitted to a predetermined value, and transmitting electrodes connected to the current limiting circuit and to contact the body to transmit the signal having the current of predetermined value to the receiver.

Claims

1. A portable device for data communication using a body as a conductor to transmit data to a receiver, the portable device comprising:

a controller unit to control processing of data to be transmitted;

a current limiting circuit to limit a current of a signal corresponding to the data to be transmitted to a predetermined value; and

transmitting electrodes connected to the current limiting circuit and contacted with the body to generate electric potential difference therebetween, so that the signal having the current of predetermined value flows from the transmitting electrode having higher electric potential through the body to the receiver and sinks to the transmitting electrode having lower electric potential.

2. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the signal is transmitted by controlling a voltage polarity of the transmitting electrodes.

3. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the number of the transmitting electrodes are at least two.

4. The portable device of claim 1, further comprising:

a data storage to store the data; and

an interfacing unit to interface with a user.

5. The portable device of claim 4, wherein:

the data stored in the data storage is video and/or audio data, and

the portable device is one of a sound player, an MP3 player, a cellular phone, a portable media player, and a navigation device.

6. The portable device of claim 4, further comprising:

a display unit to display content corresponding to the data stored in the data storage;

a sound output unit to convert the signal decoded by the controller unit to an analog signal; and

a power source, wherein the data receiving unit comprises a universal serial bus controller and a universal serial bus connector to receive the data.

7. The portable device of claim 4, wherein each of the transmitting electrodes is disposed on a rear surface of the portable device in the form of a clip, an ‘

L’

shaped electrode, or a curved surfaced electrode.

8. The portable device of claim 1, further comprising a data storage to store the data, wherein the data stored in the data storage corresponds to an electronic key, and the transmitting electrodes transmits a signal corresponding to the electronic key having a current of the predetermined value to gain access controlled by the receiver.

9. The portable device of claim 8, further comprising:

an encryption unit to encrypt the electronic key;

an encoding unit to encode the encrypted electronic key; and

a switching circuit to modulate the encoded electronic key to output to the current limiting circuit.

10. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the body is a human body.

11. A receiver for receiving data communicated using a body as a conductor to transmit the date, the receiver comprising:

receiving electrodes to contact the body to receive a signal corresponding to the data; and

a signal processor to process the signal received through the receiving electrodes, wherein the signal has a current defined to a predetermined value.

12. The receiver of claim 11, wherein:

the receiver is a peripheral device to output a reproduction signal corresponding to video and/or audio data,

the processed signal corresponds to an output obtained from reproducing the video and/or audio data, and

the peripheral device further comprises an output unit to output the signal from the signal processor.

13. The receiver of claim 12, wherein the peripheral device is one of a headset, an earset, an earphone, a visual visor, and a combination thereof.

14. The receiver of claim 12, wherein the output unit comprises at least one of:

a sound outputting unit to output sound corresponding to the signal; and

a display unit to output an image corresponding to the signal.

15. The receiver of claim 14, wherein the signal processor comprises:

an amplifier to amplify the signal received through the receiving electrodes;

a bandwidth pass filter to extract a baseband signal from the amplified signal;

a comparator to convert the baseband signal to a signal of a predetermined voltage; and

a controller unit to divide the converted signal and output the divided signals to the output unit.

16. The receiver of claim 11, wherein:

the data corresponds to an electronic key, and

the receiver further comprises a controller to control access based on the signal received through the receiving electrodes.

17. The receiver of claim 16, wherein the signal processor comprises:

an amplifier to amplify the signal received through the receiving electrodes;

a bandwidth pass filter to convert the amplified signal to a baseband signal;

a comparator to convert the baseband signal to a signal of a predetermined voltage;

a decoding unit to decode the signal of a predetermined voltage; and

a decrypting unit to decrypt the decoded signal to output to the controller.

18. A method of communicating data wirelessly using a body as a conductor to transmit the data from a portable device to a receiver, the method comprising:

controlling transmitting electrodes of the portable device to generate electric potential difference between the transmitting electrodes according to the data to be transmitted, wherein the transmitting electrodes contact the body and the body contacts receiving electrodes of the receiver;

limiting a current of the transmitting electrodes to a predetermined value; and

supplying the current from the transmitting electrode having higher electric potential to the body so that the current flows in form of digital through the surface of the body to the receiving electrodes of the receiver and sinks to the transmitting electrode having lower electric potential.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the controlling of the transmitting electrodes allows a voltage polarity of the transmitting electrodes to be changed according to the data to be transmitted.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein:

the data to be transmitted is one of video and/or audio data and an electronic key, and

the portable device is one of a sound player, an MP3 player, a cellular phone, a portable media player, a navigation device, and an access requesting device.