Signal processing apparatus and signal processing method

• US 8,643,473 B2
• Filed: 03/23/2011
• Issued: 02/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Takahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): SYED, NABIL H
• Application Number:
  US13/065,528
• Publication Number:
  US 20110241837A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,049 Days
• Field of Search: 340/10.1, 340/10.2, 340/10.3, 340/10.33, 340/10.4, 340/10.5, 340/572.1, 340/572.3, 340/572.7, 340/572.8, 340/870.02, 340/870.19
• US Class Current: 340/10.1
• 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: H01Q 1/2216 used in interrogator/reader equipment

Abstract

There is provided a signal processing apparatus, including a first antenna to perform non-contact communication with a reader writer, a second antenna installed adjacent to the first antenna to perform the non-contact communication with a non-contact communication apparatus, a metal body that is arranged between the first antenna and the second antenna and blocks a magnetic field between the first antenna and the second antenna, an amplification unit that amplifies a carrier wave by using at least external power supplied from an external power supply, a modulation unit that modulates the carrier wave, and a load modulation unit that changes an impedance of the first antenna.

Claims

1. A signal processing apparatus configured to be arranged near a reader writer and to enable non-contact communication between the reader writer and a non-contact IC card, comprising:

a first antenna to perform the non-contact communication with the reader writer;

a second antenna installed adjacent to the first antenna to perform the non-contact communication with the non-contact IC card;

a metal body that is arranged between the first antenna and the second antenna and blocks a magnetic field between the first antenna and the second antenna;

a first magnetic body arranged between the first antenna and the metal body, and a second magnetic body arranged between the second antenna and the metal body;

an amplification unit that amplifies a carrier wave;

a modulation unit that modulates the carrier wave, and

a load modulation unit that changes an impedance of the first antenna,

wherein the signal processing apparatus receives a first carrier wave modulated with first data transmitted to the non-contact IC card from the reader writer by using the first antenna,

generates a second carrier wave by amplifying the first carrier wave by the amplification unit, modulates the second carrier wave with the first data by the modulation unit,

transmits the second carrier wave modulated with the first data to the non-contact IC card by using the second antenna,

receives second data returned by load modulation of an antenna of the non-contact IC card from the non-contact IC card by using the second antenna, and

transmits the second data to the reader writer by performing the load modulation that changes the impedance of the first antenna by the load modulation unit based on the second data, and

in which each of the first antenna and the second antenna is configured as a loop antenna and arranged such that a communication or loop surface of the first antenna is parallel to a communication or loop surface of the second antenna, and

in which when the signal processing apparatus is arranged near the reader writer, each of the loop surface of the first antenna and the loop surface of the second antenna is parallel to a communication surface of the reader writer,

said signal processing apparatus further comprising a power generating circuit to generate power for use therein by mixing internal power obtained from a magnetic field from the reader writer and external power obtained from an external power supply in a predetermined ratio, in which the predetermined ratio of internal power to external power is within a ratio range of 1;

3 to 1;

20.

2. The signal processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a digital processing unit that digitally processes the first data and the second data,

wherein the digital processing unit changes a communication method of the first data received from the reader writer from a first communication method supported by the reader writer to a second communication method supported by the non-contact IC card and changes the communication method of the second data received from the non-contact IC card from the second communication method supported by the non-contact IC card apparatus to the first communication method supported by the reader writer.

3. The signal processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a detection unit that detects a signal of the second data generated in the second antenna by the load modulation of the antenna of the non-contact IC card; and

a receiving amplification unit that amplifies the signal of the second data detected by the detection unit,

wherein receiving performance of the second data by the detection unit and the receiving amplification unit is adjusted to be higher than the receiving performance of the second data by the reader writer.

4. The signal processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein a degree of modulation when the second carrier wave is modulated with the first data by the modulation unit is adjusted to be different from a degree of modulation when the first carrier wave is modulated with the first data by the reader writer in accordance with an environment in which the signal processing apparatus is used or specifications of the non-contact IC card.

5. The signal processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a rectifying unit that rectifies the first carrier wave received by the first antenna.

6. A signal processing method for use by a signal processing apparatus arranged near a reader writer to enable non-contact communication between the reader writer and a non-contact IC card, comprising the steps of:

receiving a first carrier wave modulated with first data transmitted from the reader writer to the non-contact IC card by using a first antenna;

generating a second carrier wave by amplifying the first carrier wave;

modulating the second carrier wave with the first data;

transmitting the second carrier wave modulated with the first data to the non-contact IC card by using a second antenna installed adjacent to the first antenna such that a metal body is present between the first antenna and the second antenna and such that a first magnetic body is arranged between the first antenna and the metal body, and a second magnetic body is arranged between the second antenna and the metal body;

receiving second data returned by load modulation of an antenna of the non-contact IC card from the non-contact IC card by using the second antenna; and

transmitting the second data to the reader writer by performing the load modulation that changes an impedance of the first antenna based on the second data, and

in which each of the first antenna and the second antenna is configured as a loop antenna and arranged such that a communication or loop surface of the first antenna is parallel to a communication or loop surface of the second antenna, and

in which when the signal processing apparatus is arranged near the reader writer, each of the loop surface of the first antenna and the loop surface of the second antenna is parallel to a communication surface of the reader writer, and

said signal processing method further comprising the step of generating power for use by the signal processing apparatus by mixing internal power obtained from a magnetic field from the reader writer and external power obtained from an external power supply in a predetermined ratio, in which the predetermined ratio of internal power to external power is within a ratio range of 1;

3 to 1;

20.