Wave Shaping Device, An Electronic Device, And A System

• US 20160233971A1
• Filed: 04/02/2014
• Published: 08/11/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique, Universite Paris CITE
• Original Assignee: Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique, Universite Paris Diderot Paris 7
• Inventors: Dupre, Matthieu, Kaina, Nadge, Fink, Mathias, Lerosey, Geoffroy
• Granted Patent: US 11,251,886 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/0018 Space- fed arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/44 varying the electric or magnetic characteristics of reflecting, refracting, or diffracting devices associated with the radiating element
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/46 Active lenses or reflecting arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/309 Measuring or estimating channel quality parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0048 Allocation of pilot signals, i.e. of signals known to the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A wave shaping device which comprises a tunable impedance surface and a controller connected to the surface in order to control its impedance. The shaping device further comprises a transmission module for receiving a pilot signal used to control the impedance of the surface.

Claims

1. A shaping device, comprising:

a surface which interacts with a wave, said surface comprising a plurality of tunable elements for changing an impedance of said surface and the manner in which the wave is reflected and/or transmitted by said surface, and

a controller connected to the surface in order to control each of the tunable elements, said shaping device wherein it further comprises a transmission module which is connected to the controller and which receives a pilot signal, and in that the controller controls the tunable elements according to the pilot signal received by the transmission module.

2. The shaping device according to claim 1, wherein each tunable element comprises only two states, the states of all the tunable elements defining the impedance of the surface.

3. The shaping device according to claim 2, wherein the two states correspond to module or phase shifts.

4. The shaping device according to claim 1, wherein the tunable elements interact with a wave propagating in a first propagation channel, and the transmission module receives the pilot signal propagating in a second propagation channel, the second propagation channel being different from the first propagation channel.

5. The shaping device according to claim 1, wherein the tunable elements are electromagnetic elements having an electromagnetic tunable characteristic.

6. The shaping device according to claim 1, wherein the tunable elements are acoustic elements having an acoustic tunable characteristic.

7. The shaping device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission module is adapted to receive only short-range wireless transmissions, for example having an unobstructed transmission distance range of less than 100 meters.

8. The shaping device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission module is adapted to receive a pilot signal from a wireless connection to a local area network, such as a WiFi, a Bluetooth or a NFC connection.

9. The shaping device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission module is adapted to receive a pilot signal from an acoustic connection that is inaudible, for example within an ultrasonic frequency band.

10. The shaping device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission module is integrated into the surface.

11. The shaping device according to claim 1, wherein the surface is integrated into an element chosen from among a list comprising:

constructional elements of a building, such as a concrete block, a brick, insulation, an insulating board, a plasterboard, and

decorative elements of the building, such as wood flooring, carpeting, tile flooring, a trim panel, a partition, a ceiling, a dropped-ceiling panel, and

furnishings, such as a desk, cabinet, bookcase, mirror, decorative table, lamp.

12. The shaping device according to claim 1, further comprising a power component connected to the surface, said power component being adapted for recovering an amount of energy from the wave received by the surface.

13. The shaping device according to claim 1, further comprising a power component connected to a photoelectric cell, said power component being adapted for recovering an amount of energy from light.

14. The shaping device according to claim 1, wherein:

the transmission module is wirelessly connected to an electronic device by the pilot signal, said pilot signal containing data from said electronic device, and

the controller comprises an optimization module that minimizes or maximizes a value in order to determine parameters, said value being determined based on said data which are a function of the wave received by the electronic device, and wherein the controller controls the tunable elements based on said parameters.

15. The shaping device according to claim 14, wherein the value is chosen from among an amplitude, a power level, and a quality index for the wave received by the electronic device.

16. The shaping device according to claim 1, wherein:

the transmission module is wirelessly connected with an electronic device by the pilot signal, said pilot signal containing data from said electronic device, said data being a function of the wave received by the electronic device, and

the controller determines parameters based on said data and controls the tunable elements based on said parameters.

17. The shaping device according to claim 16, wherein the data are the parameters for directly controlling the tunable elements, and the electronic device comprises an optimization module that minimizes or maximizes a value in order to determine parameters, said value being determined based on said data which are a function of the wave received by the electronic device.

18. The shaping device according to claim 17, wherein the value is chosen from among an amplitude, a power level, and a quality index for the wave received by the electronic device.

19. The shaping device according to claim 1, wherein the pilot signal is the wave received by the surface, the transmission module is adapted to receive said wave, and

wherein the controller comprises:

a monitoring module which determines a value that is a function of the wave received by the transmission module,

an optimization module which maximizes or minimizes, the value in order to determine parameters, and wherein the controller controls the tunable elements based on said parameters.

20. The shaping device according to claim 19, wherein the value is chosen from among an amplitude, a power level, and a quality index for the wave received by the electronic device.

26. A system comprising:

a shaping device for interacting with a wave according to any one of claims 1, and

an electronic device according to claim 21, and wherein the transmission unit of the electronic device is compatible with the transmission module of the shaping device such that the electronic device transmits a pilot signal to the shaping device via said transmission unit and transmission module, said pilot signal comprising data, and said system wherein the electronic device comprises a monitoring module which determines at least one value that is a function of the wave received by the receiving unit, and in that the electronic device transmits to the shaping device the data that are a function of said value.

27. The system according to claim 26, wherein the value is chosen from among an amplitude, a power level, and a quality index for the wave received by the receiving unit.

28. The system according to claim 26, wherein the data comprise said value.

29. The system according to claim 26, wherein the processing unit comprises an optimization module that maximizes or minimizes the value in order to determine parameters, said parameters being transmitted in the data.

21. An electronic device comprising:

a processing unit,

a receiving unit connected to the processing unit and adapted for receiving a wave, and

a transmission unit connected to the processing unit and communicating with a shaping device by transmitting a pilot signal,

said electronic device wherein the electronic device comprises a monitoring module that determines at least one value that is a function of the wave received by the receiving unit, and in that the electronic device transmits data that are a function of said value to the shaping device.

22. The electronic device according to claim 21, wherein the value is chosen from among an amplitude, a power level, and a quality index for the wave received by the receiving unit.

23. The electronic device according to claim 21, wherein the data comprise said value.

24. The electronic device according to claim 21 or claim 22, wherein the processing unit (21) further comprises an optimization module (21b) that maximizes or minimizes the value in order to determine parameters, said parameters being transmitted in the data.

25. The electronic device according to claim 21, wherein:

the processing unit is incorporated inside a first casing, and

the transmission unit is incorporated inside a second casing, the first and second casing being removably attached one to the other for connecting the processing unit to the transmission unit.