Patent · US Expired

Aerial arrays for inductive communications systems

US5966641A · kind A · utility

37Cited by
0References
9Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateNov 1, 1996
Grant dateOct 12, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 1, 2016

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04B5/77
  • WIPO fieldTelecommunications
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A communication link includes a base unit and a remote unit that each include a transmit aerial and a receive aerial. These units communicate via magnetic inductive fields. The transmit aerial may be an array that shapes the field to transmit in front of the base unit to minimize interference between adjacent base units. Transmission from the base unit to the remote unit preferably uses magnetic inductive fields that are orthogonal to the magnetic inductive fields that transmit from the remote unit to the base unit. Accordingly, the aerials include aerials for receiving and transmitting in such orientations. A tri-axial array includes three aerials that are orthogonal to each other to allow the aerials to be driven by currents that are phase shifted and amplitude modulated so that the plane of the field is selectively tilted to maximize coupling between the base unit and remote unit. Such tilting allows the user of the remote unit to move relative to the base unit and maintain maximum coupling.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.