Method and device for transferring a signal from a signal source to a signal sink in a system

• US 7,050,763 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2002
• Issued: 05/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Original Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Inventors: Tihanyi, Jenoe, Werner, Wolfgang, Taghizadeh-Kaschani, Karim-Thomas, Stengel, Jens-Peer
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Pablo N.
• Application Number:
  US10/060,530
• Publication Number:
  US 20020106996A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,574 Days
• Field of Search: 455/522, 455/501, 455/20, 455/550.1, 455/90.3, 455/575.1, 455/575.8, 455 61- 63, 455 671- 673, 455101-103, 455/115, 4552261-2263, 455/126, 455447-452, 455/13.4, 455/296, 455/115.1, 455/264, 455269-275, 455/276.1, 455/282, 375257-258, 375219-222, 375/377, 375/288, 333/24.R, 333/32, 333/17.3, 333109-112
• US Class Current: 455/90.3
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/063 in field-effect transistor switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/567 Circuits characterised by the use of more than one type of semiconductor device, e.g. BIMOS, composite devices such as IGBT
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/689 with galvanic isolation between the control circuit and the output circuit H03K17/78 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/20 for coupling gramophone pick-up, recorder output, or microphone to receiver

Abstract

The system has at least two electronic units between which signals are transferred from a first electronic unit and a second electronic unit. The first electronic unit has a signal source. The second electronic unit has a signal sink. A signal to be transferred is converted into a line-independent electromagnetic wave with a transmitting unit and transmitted to a receiving unit. The line-independent electromagnetic wave is received with the receiving unit and converted into a reception signal.

Claims

1. A method of transferring signals in a switching module having a processing unit and a switch unit with a switch and a drive circuit for controlling the switch, the method which comprises:

converting a signal to be transmitted from the processing unit to the switch unit into a line-independent electromagnetic wave; and

receiving the line-independent electromagnetic wave with a receiving unit in the switch unit, converting the electromagnetic wave into a reception signal, and supplying the reception signal to the drive circuit for controlling the switch being a high-side switch of a half-bridge having the high-side switch and a low-side switch.

2. The method according to claim 1, which comprises emitting the line-independent electromagnetic wave with a transmitting unit.

3. The method according to claim 2, which comprises transmitting line-independent electromagnetic waves with different carrier frequencies.

4. The method according to claim 2, which comprises transmitting the line-independent electromagnetic wave via a transmission technique selected from the group consisting of FDMA and TDMA.

5. The method according to claim 2, which comprises transmitting the line-independent electromagnetic wave via a CDMA technique.

6. A system, comprising:

at least one first electronic unit having a signal source for providing a transmission signal and a transmitting unit connected to said signal source for converting the transmission signal into a line-independent electromagnetic wave;

at least one second electronic unit having a receiving unit for receiving the line-independent electromagnetic wave and converting the electromagnetic wave into a reception signal, and a signal sink connected to said receiving unit; and

a half-bridge including a high-side switch and a low-side switch, and said first electronic unit is a signal processing unit, and said second electronic unit is a drive circuit connected to said high-side switch of said half-bridge.

7. The system according to claim 6, further comprising an electromagnetically shielding housing encasing said first and second electronic units.

8. The system according to claim 6, wherein at least one of the following is true:

said signal source is one of a plurality of signal sources connected to said transmitting unit, and said signal sink is one of a plurality of signal sinks connected to said receiving unit.

9. The system according to claim 6, wherein said transmitting unit includes a transmitter for emitting electromagnetic waves in a gigahertz range, and said receiving unit includes a receiver for receiving electromagnetic waves in the gigahertz range.