Signal processing apparatus and signal processing method

• US 20110241837A1
• Filed: 03/23/2011
• Published: 10/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Takahiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,643,473 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2216 used in interrogator/reader equipment

Abstract

There is provided a signal processing apparatus, including a first antenna to perform non-contact communication with a reader writer, a second antenna installed adjacent to the first antenna to perform the non-contact communication with a non-contact communication apparatus, a metal body that is arranged between the first antenna and the second antenna and blocks a magnetic field between the first antenna and the second antenna, an amplification unit that amplifies a carrier wave by using at least external power supplied from an external power supply, a modulation unit that modulates the carrier wave, and a load modulation unit that changes an impedance of the first antenna.

Claims

1. A signal processing apparatus arranged between a reader writer and a non-contact communication apparatus performing non-contact communication with the reader writer, comprising:

a first antenna to perform the non-contact communication with the reader writer;

a second antenna installed adjacent to the first antenna to perform the non-contact communication with the non-contact communication apparatus;

a metal body that is arranged between the first antenna and the second antenna and blocks a magnetic field between the first antenna and the second antenna;

an amplification unit that amplifies a carrier wave by using at least external power supplied from an external power supply;

a modulation unit that modulates the carrier wave, and

a load modulation unit that changes an impedance of the first antenna,

wherein the signal processing apparatus receives a first carrier wave modulated with first data transmitted to the non-contact communication apparatus from the reader writer by using the first antenna,

generates a second carrier wave by amplifying the first carrier wave by the amplification unit, modulates the second carrier wave with the first data by the modulation unit,

transmits the second carrier wave modulated with the first data to the non-contact communication apparatus by using the second antenna,

receives second data returned by load modulation of an antenna of the non-contact communication apparatus from the non-contact communication apparatus by using the second antenna, and

transmits the second data to the reader writer by performing the load modulation that changes the impedance of the first antenna by the load modulation unit based on the second data.

2. The signal processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a digital processing unit that digitally processes the first data and the second data,

wherein the digital processing unit changes a communication method of the first data received from the reader writer from a first communication method supported by the reader writer to a second communication method supported by the non-contact communication apparatus and changes the communication method of the second data received from the non-contact communication apparatus from the second communication method supported by the non-contact communication apparatus to the first communication method supported by the reader writer.

3. The signal processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a detection unit that detects a signal of the second data generated in the second antenna by the load modulation of the antenna of the non-contact communication apparatus; and

a receiving amplification unit that amplifies the signal of the second data detected by the detection unit,

wherein receiving performance of the second data by the detection unit and the receiving amplification unit is adjusted to be higher than the receiving performance of the second data by the reader writer.

4. The signal processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein a degree of modulation when the second carrier wave is modulated with the first data by the modulation unit is adjusted to be different from a degree of modulation when the first carrier wave is modulated with the first data by the reader writer in accordance with an environment in which the signal processing apparatus is used or specifications of the non-contact communication apparatus.

5. The signal processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a first magnetic body arranged between the first antenna and the metal body.

6. The signal processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a second magnetic body arranged between the second antenna and the metal body.

7. The signal processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a rectifying unit that rectifies the first carrier wave received by the first antenna,

wherein the amplification unit amplifies the first carrier wave by using the external power and internal power which is obtained by rectifying the first carrier wave by the rectifying unit.

8. The signal processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the signal processing apparatus is arranged such that communication surfaces of the first and second antennas are tilted with respect to the communication surface of the antenna of the reader writer.

9. A signal processing method by a signal processing apparatus arranged between a reader writer and a non-contact communication apparatus performing non-contact communication with the reader writer, comprising the steps of:

receiving a first carrier wave modulated with first data transmitted from the reader writer to the non-contact communication apparatus by using a first antenna;

generating a second carrier wave by amplifying the first carrier wave by using at least external power supplied from an external power supply;

modulating the second carrier wave with the first data;

transmitting the second carrier wave modulated with the first data to the non-contact communication apparatus by using a second antenna installed adjacent to the first antenna such that a metal body is present between the first antenna and the second antenna;

receiving second data returned by load modulation of an antenna of the non-contact communication apparatus from the non-contact communication apparatus by using the second antenna; and

transmitting the second data to the reader writer by performing the load modulation that changes an impedance of the first antenna based on the second data.