Process for the management of concurrent access and device for practicing the same

• US 5,936,540 A
• Filed: 12/13/1996
• Issued: 08/10/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Eric Bauer
• Original Assignee: Eric Bauer
• Inventors: Lebet, Jean-Philippe
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Beaulieu, Yonel
• Application Number:
  US08/766,623
• Time in Patent Office: 970 Days
• Field of Search: 340/825.07, 340/825.08, 340/825.54, 340/825.64, 340/825.65, 340/825.67, 342/42, 342/51, 235/380, 235/382, 235/382.5, 375/238
• US Class Current: 340/3.5
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0022 arrangements or provisions for transferring data to distant stations, e.g. from a sensing device "transfer between computer elements G06F13/00 "; data-transmission H04L
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10039 interrogator driven, i.e. synchronous

Abstract

Process for managing concurrent access permitting the successive input or storage of several slave devices (receiver/transmitter) in the field of action of a master device (emitter/reader) so as to render possible the exchange of data in two directions whilst guaranteeing coherent transmission between the master device and each slave device. This process is based on a double temporary address of the slave devices. Upon each command emitted by the reader, two values are transmitted, the first comprising the identification of the next free number and the second the number of the receiver to which the command is directed.

Claims

1. Process for the management of concurrent access between a master emitter/reader device (1) and plural receiver/transmitter slave devices (2) entering successively into or remaining in the field of action of the master device adapted to guarantee the bidirectional transmission of data between the master device and each of the slave devices present, in a coherent manner, comprising the steps of:

a. Emission by the master device (1) at a predetermined frequency of a heading (5) whose structure comprises at least two temporary address values, NEXT (N) and ACTU (A) of which the value is different;

b. Entry of a slave device (2) into the field of action of the master device (1) and actuation of this latter;

c. Reception by the slave device (2) of the heading emitted at step a., decoding and saving the value of NEXT in an internal register;

d. Emission of an acknowledgement of reception by the slave device to the master device;

e. Counting up the value of NEXT (N) by the master device (1) upon reception of the acknowledgement of inscription;

f. Emission by the master device (1) of a screen by utilizing the value of ACTU (A) at a corresponding value to an inscribed slave device and to which a command is directed;

g. Comparison by the slave device of the transmitted value ACTU (A) to that saved in its register and decoding and executing the command only in case of equality of these values; and

h. Repetition of steps a. to f. until the emission of an end of dialogue command by the master device (1).

2. Process according to claim 1, wherein that the value of NEXT (N) and of ACTU (A) are coded in four bits permitting in this way the processing of 15 slave devices simultaneously.

3. Process according to claim 1, wherein coding of the binary information during transmission of data by the master device or the slave device takes place in at least eight subdivisions of the number of cycles of the carrier necessary for the representation of one bit and that the signal is modulated during seven subdivisions to represent a binary value equal to 1 and during six subdivisions to represent a binary value equal to 0.

4. The process of claim 1, utilizing a slave device comprising:

a volatile memory (15) containing the temporary addresses for inscription and selection;

a comparison device (17) permitting comparing data contained in the command received and data from the memory (15,

     16) of the device;

a zero reset (18) of the functions to cancel the data saved in the volatile memory (15);

a modulator (12) designed and adapted for modifying the radiation field such that the coded disturbance will become detectable by the master device;

a demodulator (11) designed and adapted for extracting from the modulated carrier the coded signal carrying the information emitted by the master device;

an analogical interfacial circuit transforming the binary signals into electromagnetic signals at the antenna and conversely toward the demodulator, and an autonomous supply circuit (13).

5. Process for the management of concurrent access between a master emitter/reader device (1) and plural receiver/transmitter slave devices (2) entering successively into or remaining in the field of action of the master device adapted to guarantee the bidirectional transmission of data between the master device and each of the slave devices present, in a coherent manner, comprising the steps of:

a. Emission by the master device (1) at a predetermined frequency of a heading (5) whose structure comprises at least two temporary address values, NEXT (N) and ACTU (A) of which the value is different;

b. Entry of a slave device (2) into the field of action of the master device (1) and actuation of this latter;

c. Reception by the slave device (2) of the heading emitted at step a., decoding and saving the value of NEXT in an internal register;

d. Emission of an acknowledgement of reception by the slave device to the master device;

e. Counting up the value of NEXT (N) by the master device (1) upon reception of the acknowledgement of inscription;

f. Emission by the master device (1) of a screen by utilizing the value of ACTU (A) at a corresponding value to an inscribed slave device and to which a command is directed;

g. Comparison by the slave device of the transmitted value ACTU (A) to that saved in its register and decoding and executing the command only in case of equality of these values; and

h. Repetition of steps a. to f. until the emission of an end of dialogue command by the master device (1), wherein the structure of the heading emitted by the master device comprises a third temporary address value (R) permitting fixing the number of times the slave device must receive the same command before executing it, thus it comprises the following supplemental steps if R is greater than 1;

i. Saving by the slave device of a value of R in an internal register and saving the code of the command in a comparison circuit;

j. Decrease of R by one unit upon reception of an identical command;

k. Execution of the command when R is equal to 0.

6. The process of claim 5, utilizing a slave device comprising:

a volatile memory (15) containing the temporary addresses for inscription and selection;

a comparison device (17) permitting comparing data contained in the command received and data from the memory (15,

     16) of the device;

a zero reset (18) of the functions to cancel the data saved in the volatile memory (15);

a modulator (12) designed and adapted for modifying the radiation field such that the coded disturbance will become detectable by the master device;

a demodulator (11) designed and adapted for extracting from the modulated carrier the coded signal carrying the information emitted by the master device;

an analogical interfacial circuit transforming the binary signals into electromagnetic signals at the antenna and conversely toward the demodulator, and an autonomous supply circuit (13).

7. The process of claim 6, wherein all the slave device components (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18) are disposed in a monolithic integrated circuit.

8. The process of claim 7, wherein the slave device further comprises an antenna (3) to receive signals and to extract the induced energy of the alternating field emitted by the master device, the monolithic integrated circuit (4) and the antenna (3) being encapsulated in a thin support of synthetic resin, of the credit card type.

9. The process of claim 7, wherein the monolithic integrated circuit is made in a modulable fashion with functional blocks from which can be configured the supply both for signals and for energy.