Systems, devices, circuits and methods for communicating in a communication system

• US 9,818,055 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2011
• Issued: 11/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Silicon Craft Technology Public Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Silicon Craft Technology Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Sirinamaratana, Pairote, Opasjumruskit, Karn
• Primary Examiner(s): Holloway, III, Edwin
• Application Number:
  US14/005,559
• Publication Number:
  US 20140002244A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,433 Days
• Field of Search: 340 101
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/077 Constructional details, e.g. mounting of circuits in the carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07749 the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card

Abstract

Example embodiments relate to a circuit, communication device, communication system, computer readable medium and method for communicating in a communication system. The communication device comprises an antenna, a resonant storage element for storing at least some energy received by the antenna, a processor for controlling a release of stored energy to generate a modulated signal upon receiving an interrogating signal from one or more reader devices, wherein said modulated signal is a signal comprising digital data represented by at least one predefined sequence of transitions between a high energy level and a low energy level, and a selective energy circuit in selective cooperation with the resonant storage element to affect a greater high energy level amplitude of the modulated signal upon the modulated signal transitioning from a low energy level to a high energy level when in cooperation.

Claims

1. A communication device for communicating with one or more reader devices, said communication device comprising:

an antenna;

a resonant storage element, the resonant storage element stores at least some energy as received by the antenna to produce stored energy;

a processor for controlling a release of stored energy to generate a modulated signal, wherein said modulated signal is a signal comprising digital data represented by at least one predefined sequence of transitions between a high energy level and a low energy level; and

a selective energy circuit in selective cooperation with the resonant storage element which utilizes detection of zero crossings to identify a storage point and a transfer point to store energy in the resonant storage element and to efficiently transfer the stored energy between the resonant storage element and the selective energy circuit, wherein a greater high energy level amplitude of the modulated signal is produced by adding the stored energy into the high energy level upon or after a first zero crossing of the low energy level to the high energy level to generate a steep transition from the low energy level to the high energy level, and wherein the greater high energy level amplitude of the modulated signal increases the overall difference between amplitudes of the high energy level and the low energy level.

2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the said greater high energy level amplitude is generated by a release of stored energy from the selective energy circuit.

3. The communication device according to claim 2, wherein the stored energy of the selective energy circuit is drawn from energy stored in the resonant storage element.

4. The communication device according to claim 3, wherein the drawing of energy from the resonant storage element occurs during data transmission times.

5. The communication device according to claim 4, wherein the drawing of energy from the resonant storage element occurs before the modulated signal transitions from a high energy level to a low energy level.

6. The communication device according to claim 2, wherein the stored energy of the selective energy circuit is drawn during non-data transmission times.

7. The communication device according to claim 2, wherein the selective energy circuit comprises a capacitor for storing energy, said capacitor configurable to be in parallel with the resonant storage element when releasing and storing energy, said capacitor having a capacitance value between about 2 to 3.5 times the size of the resonant storage element.

8. The communication device according to claim 2, wherein the selective energy circuit comprises a first capacitor and a second capacitor, said first capacitor configurable to be in parallel with said second capacitor when storing energy and said first capacitor configurable to be in series with said second capacitor when releasing energy, said first capacitor having a capacitance value of about 6 times the size of the resonant storage element and said second capacitor having a capacitance value of about 6 times the size of the resonant storage element.

9. The communication device according to claim 2, wherein the selective energy circuit comprises a first capacitor and a second capacitor, said first capacitor and said second capacitor configurable to be in series when releasing and storing energy, said first capacitor having a capacitance value of about 3 times the size of the resonant storage element and said second capacitor having a capacitance value of at least 50 times the size of the resonant storage element, wherein the voltage polarity across the first capacitor is alternatable between a positive and a negative voltage polarity with each transition from a low energy level to a high energy level.

10. The communication device according to claim 2, wherein the selective energy circuit comprises a capacitor, said capacitor configurable to be in parallel with the resonant storage element when releasing an impulse of energy, said capacitor having a capacitance value of at least 50 times the size of the resonant storage element.

11. The communication device according to claim 2, wherein the selective energy circuit comprises a first capacitor and a second capacitor, said first capacitor configurable to be in parallel with said second capacitor when said first capacitor is drawing energy from said second capacitor, said first capacitor configurable to be in parallel with the resonant storage element when said first capacitor is releasing energy to the resonant storage element, said first capacitor having a capacitance value of about 3 times the size of the resonant storage element and said second capacitor having a capacitance value of at least 50 times the size of the resonant storage element.

12. The communication device according to claim 2, wherein the operation of storing of at least some energy received by the antenna and the operation of releasing of stored energy is alternatable between the resonant storage element and the selective energy circuit upon a transition between a high energy level and a low energy level.

13. A communication device for communicating with one or more reader devices, the communication device comprising:

an antenna;

a resonant storage element, the resonant storage element stores at least some energy as received by the antenna to produce stored energy;

a processor for controlling a release of stored energy to generate a modulated signal, wherein the modulated signal is a signal comprising digital data represented by at least one predefined sequence of transitions between a high energy level and a low energy level;

a selective energy circuit in selective cooperation with the resonant storage element which utilizes detection of zero crossing to identify a point to and efficiently transfer the stored energy between the resonant storage element and the selective energy circuit;

wherein the processor monitors the modulated signal and causes the selective energy circuit

to draw and store energy in the resonant storage element when a n^th zero crossing is reached, wherein n is an integer, and

to release energy from the resonant storage element when a p^th zero crossing is reached, wherein p is an integer greater than n; and

wherein a greater high energy level amplitude of the modulated signal is produced by adding the stored energy into the high energy level upon or after a first zero crossing of the low energy level to the high energy level to generate a steep transition from the low energy level to the high energy level, and wherein the greater high energy level amplitude of the modulated signal increases the overall difference between amplitudes of the high energy level and the low energy level.

14. The communication device according to claim 13, wherein the releasing of stored energy on or after the first zero crossing occurs in one or more separate steps.

15. A method of communicating in a communication system comprising:

receiving, at the communication device, an interrogating signal transmitted from a reader device;

converting, at the communication device, the received interrogating signal into a modulated signal having high and low energy levels;

drawing, by a selective energy circuit of the communication device, energy from the modulated signal to provide drawn energy after a n^th zero crossing from a first zero crossing from the low energy level to the high energy level, where n is an integer;

storing the drawn energy in a resonant storage element of the communication device;

transferring the drawn energy from the resonant storage element to the modulated signal after a p^th zero-crossing, wherein p is an integer greater than n, wherein transferring the drawn energy to the high energy levels of modulated signal increases the amplitude of the high energy levels of the modulated signal to produce an increased amplitude modulated signal, the increased amplitude modulated signal increases the overall difference between amplitudes of the high and low energy levels;

generating, at the communication device, a response signal for transmitting to the reader device the increased amplitude modulated signal.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the step of generating the response signal is achieved by adding additional energy to the increased amplitude modulated signal beginning on or after the first zero crossing of a high energy level segment of the modulated signal.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the adding of additional energy on or after the first zero crossing occurs in one or more separate steps.

18. The method according to claim 15, wherein the step of generating the response signal further comprises drawing energy from the converted energy.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the drawing of the energy occurs before the modulated signal transitions from a high energy level to a low energy level.

20. A communication system comprising:

one or more reader devices, wherein at least one reader device is for transmitting an interrogating signal and at least one reader device is for receiving a response signal as transmitted; and

a communication device for receiving an interrogating signal from at least one reader device, wherein the communication device

converts the interrogating signal into storable energy,

stores the converted storable energy into a resonant storage element,

generates a modulated signal using the stored energy, wherein the modulated signal is a signal comprising digital data represented by at least one predefined sequence of transitions between a high energy level and a low energy level,

monitors the modulated signal to detect zero crossings to identify a storage point and a transfer point to store energy in the resonant storage element and to efficiently transfer the stored energy, and

generates a response modulated signal from the modulated signal for transmission to at least one reader device, which has an increased amplitude in high energy by adding the stored energy into the high energy level upon or after the transfer point after a first zero crossing of the high energy level segment to generate a steep transition from the low energy level to the high energy level, and wherein the increased amplitude in the high energy level of the response signal increases the overall difference between amplitudes of the high energy level and the low energy level.