Communication via a magnio

• US 9,614,589 B1
• Filed: 01/21/2016
• Issued: 04/04/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Inventors: Coar, David N., Russo, Jon C., Bruce, Gregory S., Lew, Wilbur, Miller, Julie L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pan, Yuwen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chen, Zhitong
• Application Number:
  US15/003,677
• Time in Patent Office: 439 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/032 using magneto-optic devices, e.g. Faraday or Cotton-Mouton effect
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/24 Inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/26 using coils
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication

Abstract

A system includes a transmitting device and a receiving device. The transmitting device includes a first processor configured to transmit data to a transmitter and the transmitter. The transmitter is configured to transmit the data via a magnetic field. The receiving device includes a magnetometer configured to detect the magnetic field and a second processor configured to decipher the data from the detected magnetic field.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a transmitting device comprising;

a first processor configured to transmit data to a transmitter, wherein the data comprises a plurality of data streams with unique synchronization sequences therein; and

the transmitter, wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit the data via a magnetic field, wherein each of the data streams is simultaneously transmitted on a respective one of a plurality of channels, and wherein each of the plurality of channels comprises a unique direction of the magnetic field; and

a receiving device comprising;

a magnetometer configured to detect the magnetic field and generate a signal indicative of the detected magnetic field; and

a second processor receiving the signal indicative of the detected magnetic fields and monitoring the signal for a plurality of combinations of the unique synchronization sequences, and wherein each of the combinations comprises one of the unique synchronization sequences on a respective one of the plurality of channels;

wherein the data from the detected magnetic field may be deciphered based at least in part on an identification of one of the plurality of combinations of the unique synchronization sequences on the plurality of channels.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first processor is further configured to:

receive a first data stream comprising the data; and

interleave the data into a plurality of second data streams, and

wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit each of the second data streams on one of the plurality of channels.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of channels comprises one of a plurality of magnetic fields.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of magnetic fields is orthogonal to one another.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the magnetometer is configured to detect the magnetic field in a plurality of directions.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the plurality of directions are tetrahedrally arranged.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the signal indicative of the magnetic field comprises a plurality of signals from the magnetometer, wherein each of the plurality of signals corresponds to one of the plurality of directions, and wherein the second processor is configured to:

decipher each of the plurality of second data streams from the plurality of signals; and

de-interleave the plurality of second data streams to determine the data.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of channels is two channels, and wherein each of the two channels corresponds to one of two magnetic fields.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the magnetometer is configured to detect each of three magnetic fields.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of channels is three channels, and wherein each of the three channels corresponds to one of three magnetic fields.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the magnetometer is configured to detect each of four magnetic fields.

12. A device comprising:

a processor configured to;

receive a stream of data, and

encode the stream of data into a plurality of streams of data with unique synchronization sequences therein; and

a transmitter configured to;

receive the plurality of streams of data, and

simultaneously transmit the plurality of streams of data via a plurality of magnetic fields such that each of the unique synchronization sequences are time-aligned, wherein each of the plurality of streams is transmitted via a corresponding one of the plurality of magnetic fields.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the plurality of streams of data is three streams of data, and wherein the plurality of magnetic fields is three magnetic fields.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein the plurality of magnetic fields are orthogonal to one another.

15. The device of claim 12, wherein the transmitter further comprises a plurality of coils, and wherein each of the plurality of magnetic fields is generated by a corresponding one of the plurality of coils.

16. The device of claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of magnetic fields corresponds to one of a plurality of transmission channels.