DE29920854U1 - Annular data mobile memory with coupling coil, in particular for an identification system, preferably for identifying gas cylinders - Google Patents

Description

GR 99 G 3823

Description

Ring-shaped mobile data storage device with coupling coil, particularly for an identification system, preferably for the identification of gas cylinders

EP 0 782 733 B1 discloses a device for contactless energy and data transmission by inductive means, which is particularly suitable for identifying gas cylinders. This device has a mobile data storage device which contains a storage and operating circuit and an elongated loop coil connected to it. These elements of the mobile data storage device are applied to a band-shaped, preferably elastic carrier. Data can be read from or written to the mobile data storage device using a read/write device which contains an antenna coil. The band-shaped carrier can be placed in a ring shape, almost completely enclosing the neck of a gas cylinder, for example. This makes it possible to identify a large number of gas cylinders.

This arrangement has the disadvantage that contactless data communication between the writing and reading device and the mobile data storage device on the band-shaped carrier is not possible evenly from all spatial directions. Rather, if the writing and reading device is approached from one spatial direction to a band-shaped carrier placed around the neck of a gas bottle, which is pointing directly at the closure of the band-shaped carrier, data exchange at 0 this angle is not possible or only unreliable, since the band-shaped carrier is not covered with part of the elongated loop coil at this connection point.

The invention is based on the object of specifying a coupling coil 5 and a ring-shaped mobile data storage device equipped therewith, in which this problem does not occur.

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The objects are achieved with the coupling coil specified in claim 1 and the mobile data memory specified in the independent claim 3, which contains a coupling coil according to the invention. Furthermore, the independent claim 8 is directed to an identification system which has at least one mobile data memory according to the invention with a corresponding coupling coil. Further advantageous embodiments of the coupling coil, the mobile data memory and the identification system are contained in the subclaims. Finally, the independent claims 9 and 10 are directed to preferred uses of the mobile data memory.

The invention is explained in more detail with reference to the following figures. 15

Figure 1: an exemplary internal structure for a mobile data storage device with a coupling coil according to the invention,

Figure 2: the exemplary mobile data storage device of Figure 1, with its coupling coil shown in an exploded manner for the purpose of better explaining its structure,

Figure 3: the exemplary mobile data storage device of Figure 1 and a basic electrical block diagram of a writing and/or reading device,

Figure 4: a plan view of a partial joint area of the exemplary embodiment

form of a coupling coil according to the invention as shown in Figures 1 and 2,

Figure 5: the course of the magnetic flux density, particularly in the impact area shown in Figure 4

the exemplary coupling coil of Figure 1.

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Figure 6: a perspective top view of an exemplary embodiment of a writing and/or reading device for a mobile data storage device in the form of a handheld device which is connected to an electronic programming unit, and

Figure 7: a perspective front view of a gas cylinder which is equipped with a mobile data storage device according to the invention for recording and/or processing gas cylinder-specific data,

Figure 1 shows an example of the internal structure of a preferred embodiment of a coupling coil 22 according to the invention. This coupling coil 22 has, for example, two cylindrical loop coils 221 and 222, which are connected in series. Each loop coil has one winding. On the circumference of the winding of each loop coil 221 and 222, a joint area 2216 and 2226 occurs. This is caused by the return of the respective loop conductors up to the beginning of the respective winding. According to the invention, the loop coils 221 and 222 are arranged spatially one inside the other in such a way that the joint areas 2216 and 2226 do not overlap, i.e. do not lie on top of one another.

Advantageously, the cylindrical loop coils of the coupling coil are spatially arranged one inside the other in such a way that the joint areas are distributed as evenly as possible on the circumference of the windings. In the coupling coil 22 shown as an example in Figure 1, its two cylindrical loop coils 221 and 222 are spatially arranged one inside the other in such a way that the joint areas 2216 and 2226 are offset by approximately 180 degrees on the circumference of the windings, i.e. are arranged opposite one another.

In other designs not shown, the coupling coil can also consist of more than two cylindrical coils connected in series.

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dric loop coils. Such an arrangement is advantageous if the coupling coil is to have a larger number of turns. The cylindrical loop coils of the coupling coil are then also advantageously arranged spatially one inside the other so that the joint areas are distributed as evenly as possible on the circumference of the windings. In a coupling coil with, for example, three loop coils, these would then advantageously be arranged spatially one inside the other so that their joint areas are offset by approximately 120 degrees on the circumference of the windings.,

The design of the coupling coil according to the invention offers the particular advantage that it can act almost evenly in all spatial directions, i.e. in a 3 60 degree plane, despite its small external dimensions. The joint area of each loop coil represents an area in which virtually no radiation or reception of electromagnetic waves is possible. However, since the joint areas of the loop coils lying one inside the other are arranged over the circumference of the coupling coil in a way that at least does not overlap, and are preferably evenly distributed, there is no total loss of the electromagnetic flux density that can be received or emitted at the joint points.

The design of the coupling coil according to the invention offers the particular advantage that the transmission coil integrated in a writing and/or reading device can be made as small as possible. This makes handling a writing and/or reading device, for example in the form of a hand-held device, much easier. This will be explained in more detail below using the example of Figures 4 to 7.

Advantageously, in the example of Figure 1, a data processing unit 23 with integrated data storage means 233 is already connected to the coupling coil 22. The overall arrangement then represents a contactless readable and/or writable mobile data storage device 2. This enables a

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non-contact emission and/or contactless reception of data by means of a writing and/or reading device by inductive means. An example of such a writing and/or reading device will be explained in more detail using Figure 6.

Figure 2 shows the exemplary mobile data storage device 2 from Figure 1, the coupling coil 22 of which is shown in an exploded manner for the purpose of better explaining its structure. The first cylindrical loop coil 221 is placed in the upper part of the drawing and the second cylindrical loop coil 222 in the lower part. The winding of the first cylindrical loop coil 221 has a first and a second loop conductor 2213 and 2214. The connections 2215 of the loop conductors 2213 and 2214 form the joint area 2216, while at the other ends of the loop conductors there are a first and a second loop connection 2211 and 2212. The winding of the second cylindrical loop coil 222 has a third and a fourth loop conductor 2223 and 2224. The connections 2225 of the loop conductors 2223 and 2224 in turn form the joint area 2226, while a third and a fourth loop connection 2221, 2222 are present at the other ends of the loop conductors. The series connection of the loop coils 221 and 222 is achieved by corresponding connections of the loop connections 2211, 2212 with the loop connections 2221, 2222, which are shown in dashed lines in the example in Figure 2 due to the elongated arrangement.

Due to the spatially nested arrangement according to the invention, the joint area 2226 of the second loop coil 222 is located in an area 2217 of the first cylindrical loop coil 221, in which its loop conductors 2213, 2214 run uninterrupted and in a straight line. The transmission-technical breaking point of the joint area 2226 is thus formed by the undisturbed loop conductors 2213, 2214

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covered. In a corresponding manner, when they lie one inside the other, the joint area 2216 of the first loop coil 221 comes to lie in an area 2227 of the second cylindrical loop coil 222, in which its loop conductors 2223, 2224 run uninterrupted and in a straight line. The transmission-technical break point of the joint area 2216 is thus also covered at this point by the undisturbed loop conductors 2223, 2224.

Finally, in the example of Figure 2, a data processing unit 23, which has integrated data storage means 233, is connected via its first and second connection points 231 and 233, on the one hand, to the first loop connection 2211 of the first loop coil 221, and on the other hand, to the fourth loop connection 2222 of the second loop coil 222. The connection of the coupling coil 22 and the data processing unit 23 creates a mobile data storage device 2, which can be written with data inductively by means of a writing and/or reading device, or from which data can be retrieved.

Figure 3 again shows the exemplary mobile data storage device from Figure 1 and a basic electrical block diagram of a corresponding writing and/or reading device 3. The free space 223 inside the cylindrical loop coils of the coupling coil 22 can be used for assembly purposes. This will be explained in more detail using the example of Figure 7.

0 The writing and/or reading device 3 contains a hand-held device 31 which can preferably be handled by an operator and which essentially has a control device 313 integrated in the device body and a transmission coil 315 at its head end. The hand-held device can be brought by an operator, in particular with the transmission coil 315 directed forward, into the spatial proximity of the coupling coil 22 of the mobile data storage device 2. Data exchange between

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Hand-held device and data processing unit 23 can be connected inductively via the transmission coil 315 and the coupling coil 22. Due to the inventive design of the coupling coil 22 in particular, it is particularly advantageous to make the transmission coil 315 of the hand-held device 3 small. This makes handling the hand-held device considerably easier. This will be explained in more detail below.

An external electronic programming unit 32 can advantageously be connected to the integrated control device 313 via a data coupling cable 33. On the one hand, this can be used to specify data that are to be transferred to the mobile data memory 2. Furthermore, the programming unit 32 enables further processing of data that has been read from the mobile data memory 2.

Figure 4 shows a top view of a section of the exemplary coupling coil 22 according to the representations of Figures 1 to 3 in the area of the joint area 2216. The inner loop conductors 2213, 2214 of the first loop coil 221 are shown in sections on the left and right. The loop conductors 2213, 2214 are connected together to form the winding of the loop coil 221 by the connections 2215. The connections 2215 are the cause of the joint area 2216. Furthermore, the continuous loop conductors 2223, 2224 of the second loop coil 222 are shown in sections on the outside in an area 2227, which include the loop conductors 2213, 2214, the connections 2215 and above all the joint area 2216.

In Figure 4, the directions of the current flow I through the loop conductors 2213,2214 and 2223,2224 are also shown in the form of arrows. The magnetic flux densities Bz resulting from these current flows in the spatial direction ζ are symbolized in the form of small circles. The spatial directions x, y, ζ are marked by a separate axes. A point in such a circle marks a

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a vector of the magnetic flux density protruding from the plane of the page, while a cross in such a circle represents a vector running into the plane of the page. Due to the inventive design of the coupling coil 22, the special effect occurs in the joint area 2216 that the number of vectors protruding from the plane of the page is greater than the vectors running into the plane of the page. There is therefore no cancellation of the magnetic flux densities. The flux density resulting from the superposition of the protruding and incoming vectors can be detected by the transmission coil 315 in the handheld device of a writing and/or reading device. In the example in Figure 4, its detection area is marked by a dashed circle and makes data exchange possible even if the handheld device is accidentally and unknowingly pointed at a joint area 2216 by an operator. This property is achieved with the invention in that the cylindrical loop coils 221 and 222 are spatially arranged one inside the other in such a way that their joint areas do not overlap.

Figure 5 shows in a solid line, by way of example, the profile A of the magnetic flux density Bz in the joint region 2216 of the loop coil 221 shown in Figure 4, which in the arrangement according to the invention comes to lie on the continuous region 2227 of the loop coil 221. It can be seen that although a reduction in the value of the magnetic flux density occurs, there is no zero point. Such a zero point is also shown as a dashed profile C in Figure 4.

Figure 6 shows a perspective top view of an exemplary embodiment of a writing and/or reading device 3 for a mobile data storage device 2, which, according to the block diagram of Figure 3, has a hand-held device 31 and an electronic programming unit 32 connected to it. The hand-held device 31 has a pistol-like

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re form. It essentially consists of a handle with a trigger switch 312 and a control device 313 attached to it. At the head end of this there is a recording head 314 with an integrated transmission coil 315. An electronic programming unit 32 is connected to the handle 311 of the hand-held device via a data coupling cable 33. The electronic programming unit 32 advantageously has, for example, at least one operating keyboard 321 and a display screen 322.

Figure 7 is used to explain an example application of a mobile data storage device according to the invention using the example of a bottle-shaped vessel. Figure 7 shows a perspective front view of an example of a metal bottle 1, e.g. a gas bottle, which is equipped with a mobile data storage device 2 according to the invention for recording and/or processing data, preferably specific to a gas bottle. The gas bottle has a bottle body 11 resting on a bottle base 111. The bottle body 11 merges into a bottle top 12, which consists of a bottle neck 121 with a bottle head 122 attached. On the bottle head 122 there is an operable shut-off valve 125, with which the metal bottle 1 can be opened and closed. If the metal bottle 1 is used, for example, to hold a gas that is under pressure, hose lines (not shown in Figure 1) can be connected to a connection socket 126 on the bottle head 122. This makes it possible to remove gas under pressure from the metal bottle 1 or to fill it into it without any losses. For safety reasons, a protective funnel 123 is attached to the bottle head 122 of the metal bottle 1 shown as an example in Figure 1. This surrounds the shut-off valve 125 and the connection socket 126 and protects them from mechanical damage. Finally, the protective funnel 123 has an access opening 124, in particular to enable the shut-off valve 125 to be accessed in the protective funnel 123.

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A contactless readable and/or writable mobile data storage device 2 according to the invention is preferably mounted in the region of the bottle neck 121. A coupling antenna 22 and a data processing unit with integrated data storage means 233 are embedded in an annular carrier housing 21. Such a design and mounting of the mobile data storage device 2 is made possible by the cylindrical shape of the loop coils and the resulting free space 223 in the interior, as can be seen, for example, from the illustration in Figure 3.

An arrangement as shown in Figure 7 can be used together with a writing and/or reading device, e.g. according to Figure 6, as an inductive identification system. Such an identification system generally contains a large number of mobile data memories 2. These each have a data processing unit 23 with integrated data storage means 233 and a coupling coil 22. The coupling coil is connected in the respective mobile data memory 2 to the data processing unit 23 for contactless transmission and/or contactless reception of data.

The use of a mobile data storage device 2 in such a system can preferably be used to record data that is required for labeling gas cylinders 1 as shown in Figure 7. Furthermore, a mobile data storage device 2 can be used in an identification system, with which data 0 used to label gas cylinders 1 is written and/or processed. The data can be labels of the cylinder, e.g. date of manufacture, cylinder number, cylinder type, labels of the cylinder contents and labels of the use, e.g. number of fillings, shipping address, and much more. 35

An integrated data processing unit with connected data storage means can be used in particular for storage

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of received data in the data storage means or for retrieving data from the data storage means which are to be sent via the coupling coil. Furthermore, the data processing unit can decrypt received data or encrypt data to be sent. Finally, received data or data to be sent can also be processed by the data processing unit for the purpose of redundancy or increasing data integrity.

The coupling coil according to the invention and a mobile data storage device equipped with it offer the particular advantage that a transmission coil 315 integrated in a writing and/or reading device can be made small. This makes handling a writing and/or reading device, for example in the form of a handheld device, much easier. This simplification is particularly advantageous when the mobile data storage devices are distributed and not easily accessible. For example, if gas bottles are each equipped with a mobile data storage device according to the example in Figure 7, and several gas bottles are arranged in a metal pallet so that they cannot tip over, the mobile data storage devices on the gas bottles placed in the middle of such a pack are particularly difficult to access from the outside. In such a case, the design of the mobile data storage devices according to the invention is particularly advantageous because the invention enables data to be exchanged almost without restriction from all spatial directions.

Claims (8)

1. Coupling coil ( 22 ), characterized by at least two cylindrical loop coils ( 221 ; 222 ), which a) are connected in series ( 2221 ; 2212 ), b) each have a winding ( 2213 , 2214 ; 2223 , 2224 ) with a respective joint region ( 2216 , 2226 ), and c) are spatially arranged one inside the other in such a way that the joint regions ( 2216 , 2226 ) do not overlap. 2. Coupling coil ( 22 ) according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least two cylindrical loop coils ( 221 ; 222 ) are spatially arranged one inside the other in such a way that the joint regions ( 2216 , 2226 ) are distributed as evenly as possible over the circumference of the windings. 3. Mobile data storage ( 2 ), with a) a data processing unit ( 23 ) and integrated data storage means ( 233 ), and b) a coupling coil ( 22 ) which 1. is connected to the data processing unit ( 23 ) for contactless transmission and/or contactless reception of data, 2. at least two cylindrical loop coils ( 221 ; 222 ) which 3. are connected in series ( 2221 ; 2212 ), 4. each have a winding ( 2213 , 2214 ; 2223 , 2224 ) with a respective joint region ( 2216 , 2226 ), and 5. are spatially arranged one inside the other in such a way that the joint regions ( 2216 , 2226 ) do not overlap. 4. Mobile data storage device according to claim 3, characterized in that the at least two cylindrical loop coils ( 221 ; 222 ) are spatially arranged one inside the other in such a way that the joint regions ( 2216 , 2226 ) are distributed as evenly as possible over the circumference of the windings. 5. Mobile data storage according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the data processing unit ( 23 ) with the integrated data storage means ( 233 ) is arranged on the circumference of the cylindrical loop coils ( 221 ; 222 ). 6. Mobile data storage according to claim 3, 4 or 5, characterized in that the space ( 223 ) inside the cylindrical loop coils ( 221 ; 222 ) is free. 7. Mobile data storage according to claim 3, 4, 5 or 6, characterized in that the coupling coil ( 22 ) and the data processing unit ( 23 ) are accommodated in an annular carrier housing ( 21 ). 8. Identification system, with a) at least one mobile data storage device ( 2 ) which has 1. a data processing unit ( 23 ) and integrated data storage means ( 233 ), and 2. a coupling coil ( 22 ) which 3. is connected to the data processing unit ( 23 ) for contactless transmission and/or contactless reception of data, 4. at least two cylindrical loop coils ( 221 ; 222 ) which 5. are connected in series ( 2221 ; 2212 ), 6. each have a winding ( 2213 , 2214 ; 2223 , 2224 ) with a respective joint region ( 2216 , 2226 ), and 7. are spatially arranged one inside the other in such a way that the joint areas ( 2216 , 2226 ) do not overlap, and b) at least one writing and/or reading device ( 3 ) which has at least one integrated transmission coil ( 315 ), via which data can be exchanged contactlessly with the coupling coil ( 22 ) of a mobile data storage device ( 2 ).