Quarter wave phase shifted diode detector circuit

• US 7,456,746 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2006
• Issued: 11/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Novanta Corporation (Novanta Inc.)
• Original Assignee: SkyeTek, Inc. (RFID Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Loving, Sean T., Chan, Christopher, Chakraborty, Sayan, Enwall, Tim, Majhi, Rohit, Snook, Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): Bugg; George A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mehmood; Jennifer
• Application Number:
  US11/513,667
• Publication Number:
  US 20070182558A1
• Time in Patent Office: 817 Days
• Field of Search: 3405721-5729, 340/10.3, 340/10.33, 340/10.34, 235/435, 235/436, 235/439, 235449-450, 235/451
• US Class Current: 340/572.4
• 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: G06K 7/10356 using a plurality of antennas, e.g. configurations including means to resolve interference between the plurality of antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/22 for receivers in which no local oscillation is generated
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/24 the receiver comprising at least one semiconductor device having three or more electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/58 Hybrid arrangements, i.e. arrangements for transition from single-path two-direction transmission to single-direction transmission on each of two paths or vice versa

Abstract

A phase shifting diode detector system for an RFID reader. Quarter-wave delay circuitry is coupled between a forward transmitted signal of the RFID reader applied at a first end of the delay circuitry, and a reflected signal returning from an RFID tag applied at a second end of the delay circuitry. The system includes a pair of diode detector bridges, each comprising a series-coupled diode pair configured such that diode polarities in each bridge are reversed relative to the output thereof, to produce opposite rectified signal output polarities. An input to each of the bridges is capacitively coupled, from the junction between each said diode pair, to a respective opposite end of the delay circuitry.

Claims

1. A phase shifting diode detector system for an RFID reader comprising:

quarter-wave delay circuitry coupled between a forward transmitted signal of the RFID reader applied at a first end of the delay circuitry, and a reflected signal returning from an RFID tag applied at a second end of the delay circuitry; and

a pair of diode detector bridges, each comprising a series-coupled diode pair configured such that diode polarities in each bridge are reversed relative to the output of the diode pair, to produce opposite rectified signal output polarities;

wherein an input to each of the bridges is capacitively coupled, from the junction between each said diode pair, to a respective opposite end of the delay circuitry.

2. The diode detector system of claim 1, wherein one end of each diode pair is coupled to ground, and the other end of each diode pair is the signal output.

3. The diode detector system of claim 1, wherein polarity reversal of the input signal results in subtraction of the signals at the output of the diode detector pairs, resulting in a DC component of the output voltage equal to twice the amplitude of the individual detector outputs.

4. The diode detector system of claim 1, wherein each of the two-diode bridges rectifies the transmitted signal amplitude modulated signal to generate rectified output voltages that are in proportion to, and opposite in polarity from, an envelope of the transmitted signal, wherein the output voltages are mixed to essentially cancel an amplitude noise component of the transmitted signal.

5. The diode detector system of claim 1, including a summing amplifier coupled to the outputs of the diode detector bridges, wherein the summing amplifier adds the two output voltages to zero, thus significantly reducing the AM noise in the signal in the detector outputs.

6. The diode detector system of claim 1, wherein the quarter-wave delay circuitry comprises two series-coupled inductors, with one end of a first inductor capacitively coupled to a first one of the detector bridges, and one end of the second inductor capacitively coupled to a second one of the detector bridges, and wherein a center tap between the inductors is capacitively coupled to ground.

7. The diode detector system of claim 1, wherein the quarter-wave delay circuitry comprises a delay line in the form of a cable whose length is such that it provides a quarter-wave delay at a transmit/receive frequency of the RFID reader.

8. A phase shifting diode detector system for an RFID reader comprising:

quarter-wave delay circuitry coupled between a forward transmitted signal of the RFID reader applied at a first end of the delay circuitry, and a reflected signal returning from an RFID tag applied at a second end of the delay circuitry; and

a pair of diode detector bridges, each comprising a series-coupled diode pair configured such that diode polarities in each bridge are reversed relative to the output of the diode pair, at a first end of each diode pair, to produce opposite rectified signal output polarities, and wherein the second end of each diode pair is coupled to ground;

wherein the input to a first one of the bridges is capacitively coupled to the first end of the delay circuitry, and the input to the second one of the bridges is capacitively coupled to the second end of the delay circuitry, wherein the input to each of the bridges is connected to the junction between each said diode pair.

9. The diode detector system of claim 8, wherein each of the two-diode bridges rectifies the transmitted signal'"'"'s amplitude modulated signal to generate rectified output voltages that are in proportion to, and opposite in polarity from, an envelope of the transmitted signal, wherein the output voltages summed by a summing amplifier cancel an amplitude noise component of the amplitude modulated signal.

10. The diode detector system of claim 8, wherein polarity reversal of the input signal results in addition of the signals at the output of the diode detector pairs, resulting in a DC component of the output voltage equal to twice the amplitude of the individual detector outputs.

11. The diode detector system of claim 8, wherein the quarter-wave delay circuitry comprises two series-coupled inductors, with one end of a first inductor capacitively coupled to a first one of the detector bridges, and one end of the second inductor capacitively coupled to a second one of the detector bridges, and wherein a center tap between the inductors is capacitively coupled to ground.

12. The diode detector system of claim 8, wherein the quarter-wave delay circuitry comprises a delay line in the form of a cable whose length is such that it provides a quarter-wave delay at a transmit/receive frequency of the RFID reader.

13. A phase shifting diode detector system for an RFID reader comprising:

quarter-wave delay circuitry coupled between a forward transmitted sine wave signal of the RFID reader applied at a first end of the delay circuitry, and a reflected sine wave signal returning from an RFID tag applied at a second end of the delay circuitry; and

a pair of diode detector bridges, each comprising a series-coupled diode pair configured such that diode polarities in each bridge are reversed relative to the output of the diode pair, to produce opposite rectified signal output polarities;

wherein the bridges each have an input, connected to the junction between each said diode pair, capacitively coupled to a respective opposite end of the delay circuitry;

wherein the transmitted sine wave enters the quarter-wave delay circuitry at one end and the received sine wave enters from the opposite end, causing both wave fronts to produce voltages that are phase-shifted 90 degrees to create two DC voltages are of the same polarity which added in a summing amplifier to double the signal amplitude; and

wherein each of the diode detector bridges rectifies the transmitted sine wave amplitude signal to generate rectified output voltages that are in proportion to, and opposite in polarity from, an envelope of the transmitted signal, wherein the output voltages are fed in series to cancel the amplitude noise component of the signal returning from the RFID tag.

14. The diode detector system of claim 13, wherein the quarter-wave delay circuitry comprises two series-coupled inductors, with one end of a first inductor capacitively coupled to a first one of the detector bridges, and one end of the second inductor capacitively coupled to a second one of the detector bridges, and wherein a center tap between the inductors is capacitively coupled to ground.

15. The diode detector system of claim 13, wherein the quarter-wave delay circuitry comprises a delay line in the form of a cable whose length is such that it provides a quarter-wave delay at a transmit/receive frequency of the RFID reader.

16. In an RFID reader, a method for doubling the signal amplitude of, and reducing amplitude noise of, a signal received from an RFID tag, comprising:

coupling quarter-wave delay circuitry between a forward transmitted signal of the RFID reader applied at a first end of a delay circuitry, and the signal received from the RFID tag applied at a second end of the delay circuitry;

capacitively coupling, to a respective opposite end of the delay circuitry, an input to each of a pair of diode detector bridges, wherein each of the bridges comprises a series-coupled diode pair configured such that diode polarities in each bridge are reversed relative to the output of the diode pair, to produce opposite rectified signal output polarities, wherein the input to each of the bridges is coupled to a junction between each diode pair in a respective bridge.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the quarter-wave delay circuitry comprises two series-coupled inductors, with one end of a first inductor capacitively coupled to a first one of the detector bridges, and one end of the second inductor capacitively coupled to a second one of the detector bridges, and wherein a center tap between the inductors is capacitively coupled to ground.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the quarter-wave delay circuitry comprises a delay line in the form of a cable whose length is such that it provides a quarter-wave delay at a transmit/receive frequency of the RFID reader.

19. A diode detector system for an RFID reader comprising:

a pair of diode detector bridges, each comprising a series-coupled diode pair configured such that diode polarities in each bridge are reversed relative to the output of the diode pair, to produce modulated signals having opposite rectified signal polarities;

wherein a forward transmitted signal of the RFID reader and a reflected signal returning from an RFID tag are separated by a phase shift of 90 degrees, and are applied to both inputs of the pair of diode detector bridges; and

wherein the junction between each said diode pair corresponds to the input in each of the bridges.

20. The diode detector system of claim 19, wherein the modulated signals produced by the pair of diode detector bridges are added by a summing amplifier to cancel the amplitude noise component of the modulated signals input to the amplifier.