Radio-frequency communication device

• US 8,233,872 B2
• Filed: 10/03/2008
• Issued: 07/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Nagai, Takuya, Ohashi, Tsuyoshi, Hirata, Hironori
• Primary Examiner(s): Ghebretinsae, Temesgh
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tsvey, Gennadiy
• Application Number:
  US12/287,028
• Publication Number:
  US 20090130981A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,397 Days
• Field of Search: 455/78, 455/278.1, 455/296, 455/63.1, 455/67.11
• US Class Current: 455/296
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/038 Feedthrough nulling circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/126 having multiple inputs, e.g. auxiliary antenna for receiving interfering signal aerials in general H01Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0615 of weighted versions of same signal

Abstract

There is provided a radio-frequency communication device that can sufficiently eliminate a leakage signal from a transmission side included in a received signal. The communication device includes a cancel amplitude controlling unit 62 selectively suppressing supply of a cancel signal to a cancel signal synthesizing unit 52, a received-signal terminating unit 50 selectively terminating a received-signal input terminal 64i, a signal strength detecting unit 78 detecting a signal strength, a memory unit 82 storing a signal strength detected by the signal strength detecting unit 78, a signal strength comparing unit 80 comparing a plurality kinds of signal strengths read out from the memory unit 82, and a cancel signal controlling unit 72 controlling an amplitude and/or a phase of the cancel signal based on a result of the comparison by the signal strength comparing unit 80. Thus, suppressing the cancel signal by the cancel amplitude controlling unit 62 enables accurate detection of a strength of the received signal, as well as terminating the received signal by the received-signal terminating unit 50 enables accurate detection of a strength of the cancel signal.

Claims

1. A radio-frequency communication device comprising a splitting unit splitting a carrier wave component of a transmitted signal transmitted via a transmission antenna, an amplitude controlling unit controlling an amplitude of the carrier wave component split by the splitting unit, a phase controlling unit controlling a phase of the carrier wave component split by the splitting unit, and a cancel signal synthesizing unit adding a cancel signal generated with the carrier wave component via the amplitude controlling unit and the phase controlling unit to a received signal received via a reception antenna,

the radio-frequency communication device characterized by:

a cancel signal supply suppressing unit that selectively suppresses supply of the cancel signal to the cancel signal synthesizing unit;

a received-signal terminating unit that selectively terminates a received-signal input terminal from the reception antenna to the cancel signal synthesizing unit;

a signal strength detecting unit that detects strengths of the cancel signal, the received signal, and a synthesized signal of the cancel signal and the received signal;

a memory unit that stores the strength of the received signal detected by the signal strength detecting unit;

a signal strength comparing unit that compares the strength of the received signal read out from the memory unit with the strength of the cancel signal detected by the signal strength detecting unit; and

a cancel signal controlling unit that controls an amplitude and a phase of the cancel signal via the amplitude controlling unit and the phase controlling unit based on a comparison result by the signal strength comparing unit;

wherein the strength of the cancel signal is detected by the signal strength detecting unit by detecting the strength of the synthesized signal when the received-signal terminating unit terminates the received signal input terminal;

the strength of the received signal is detected by the signal strength detecting unit by detecting the strength of the synthesized signal when the cancel signal supply suppressing unit suppresses the supply of the cancel signal; and

first, in a state allowing the cancel signal supply suppressing unit to suppress cancel signal supply to the cancel signal synthesizing unit, the cancel signal controlling unit allows the signal strength detecting unit to detect the strength of the received signal and then allows the memory unit to store a result of the detection;

next, in a state releasing the suppression of the cancel signal supply to the cancel signal synthesizing unit and allowing the received-signal terminating unit to terminate the received-signal input terminal, the cancel signal controlling unit controls the amplitude of the cancel signal such that the strength of the cancel signal detected by the signal strength detecting unit is made equal to the strength of the received signal stored in the memory unit; and

next, in a state releasing the termination of the received-signal input terminal by the received-signal terminating unit, the cancel signal controlling unit separately controls a phase of the cancel signal from the amplitude of the cancel signal such that the strength of the synthesized signal of the received signal and the cancel signal detected by the signal strength detecting unit is maximally reduced.

2. The radio-frequency communication device of claim 1, wherein the received-signal terminating unit includes a circuit switching unit that switches a circuit between the reception antenna and the received-signal input terminal, and a termination resistance connected to the circuit switching unit;

and upon detection of the strength of the cancel signal, the circuit switching unit connects the received-signal input terminal to the termination resistance.

3. The radio-frequency communication device of claim 2, wherein the received-signal terminating unit includes, at a side of the reception antenna relative to the circuit switching unit and the termination resistance, a second circuit switching unit that switches a circuit between the reception antenna and the circuit switching unit and a second termination resistance connected to the second circuit switching unit, and upon detection of the strength of the cancel signal, the second circuit switching unit connects the reception antenna and the second termination resistance.

4. The radio-frequency communication device of claim 1, wherein upon detection of the strength of the received signal, the cancel signal supply suppressing unit controls the amplitude of the carrier wave component such that an output from the amplitude controlling unit is maximally reduced.

5. The radio-frequency communication device of claim 1, wherein the cancel signal supply suppressing unit includes a third circuit switching unit that switches a circuit between the amplitude controlling unit and a cancel signal input terminal and a third termination resistance connected to the third circuit switching unit, the cancel signal supply suppressing unit connecting the cancel signal input terminal and the third termination resistance upon detection of the strength of the received signal.

6. The radio-frequency communication device of claim 1, wherein the transmission antenna and the reception antenna are individually provided as separate antennas.

7. The radio-frequency communication device of claim 1, wherein the transmission antenna and the reception antenna are integrally provided as an antenna commonly used for transmission and reception.

8. The radio-frequency communication device of claim 1, wherein upon detection of the strength of the cancel signal, the transmission antenna transmits a transmitted signal having a signal strength smaller than that of a transmitted signal to communicate with a predetermined communication object.

9. The radio-frequency communication device of claim 1, wherein the cancel signal controlling unit executes a cancel signal control prior to transmission of information to the predetermined communication object.

10. The radio-frequency communication device of claim 1, wherein the cancel signal controlling unit executes a cancel signal control during transmission of information to the predetermined communication object.

11. The radio-frequency communication device of claim 1, wherein the cancel signal controlling unit executes a cancel signal control at every switching of a frequency of the transmitted signal.

12. The radio-frequency communication device of claim 1, wherein the cancel signal controlling unit executes a cancel signal control, when the strength of the synthesized signal of the received signal and the cancel signal detected by the signal strength detecting unit is equal to or larger than a predetermined value.

13. The radio-frequency communication device of claim 1, wherein the transmission antenna includes an array antenna having a plurality of transmission antenna elements as the transmission antenna and a transmission phase controlling unit that controls respective phases of transmitted signals sent to the respective transmission antenna elements to control a transmission directivity, and upon a phase change of the transmission phase controlling unit, the cancel signal controlling unit executes a cancel signal control.

14. The radio-frequency communication device of claim 1, wherein the reception antenna includes an array antenna having a plurality of reception antenna elements and a reception phase controlling unit that controls respective phases of received signals sent from the respective reception antenna elements to control a reception directivity, and upon a phase change of the reception phase controlling unit, the cancel signal controlling unit executes a cancel signal control.

15. The radio-frequency communication device of claim 1, further comprising a homodyne detection circuit as a demodulating unit for the received signal.

16. The radio-frequency communication device of claim 1, wherein the radio-frequency communication device is a radio-frequency communication tag device that transmits a predetermined transmitted signal via the transmission antenna to a radio-frequency tag, and receives, via the reception antenna, a reply signal returned from the radio-frequency tag in response to the transmitted signal to perform information communication with the radio-frequency tag.