JP2006191184A - Hot spot system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable electric field communication between a portable terminal and an information terminal, even if a living body carrying the portable terminal does not touch an electrode for electric field communication for transmitting and receiving information to and from the information terminal. <P>SOLUTION: An electric field transmission medium 202 capable of contactlessly inducing an electric field on a living body 201 by capacitive coupling is arranged on a transmission/reception electrode 204 for transmitting and receiving information from and to information terminal 205 via a transceiver 203 for electric field communication. With this configuration, approach of the living body 201 to the medium 202 allows induction of the electric field for the living body 201 from the medium 202. Further, the height of the medium 202 is made the same degree of the height as that of the living body 201, thereby facilitating coupling the electric field to the living body 201 from the medium 202. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a hot spot system that transmits and receives information by an electric field through an electric field transmission medium.

  Computers (wearable computers) that are sized to be worn on the human body due to the miniaturization and high performance of portable terminals have attracted attention. And development of the technique which connects the portable terminal to which the wearable computer is applied to the transceiver for electric field communication, and performs communication between portable terminals by an electric field is progressing (for example, refer patent document 1).

  This electric field communication uses a human body as an electric field transmission medium for transmitting an electric field. As a basic function of an electric field communication transceiver, an electric field is induced in an electric field transmission medium based on information to be transmitted when a signal is transmitted, and a laser beam and an electro-optical element are used based on the received electric field when a signal is received. The signal is detected by an electro-optical technique.

  FIG. 7 shows an image diagram when communication is performed between a plurality of portable terminals via a human body. As shown in the figure, a plurality of portable terminals 1 are respectively connected to a transceiver 3, and each transceiver 3 is in contact with a human body via a transmission / reception electrode for electric field communication. When the portable terminal 1 transmits / receives information, an electric field is induced in the human body by the transceiver 3 connected to the portable terminal 1, and the electric field is transmitted through the human body to transmit information to and from the portable terminal connected to another transceiver. Send and receive.

Each portable terminal 1 has an information terminal 5 such as a personal computer connected to the transceiver 3'a through a communication line when a human body contacts a transmission / reception electrode of the transceiver 3'a installed on a wall or the like. It is possible to communicate with data. Furthermore, when the human body comes in contact with the transmission / reception electrodes of the transceiver 3′b installed on the floor or the like, it is possible to perform data communication with the information terminal 5 connected to the transceiver 3′b through a communication line.
JP 2003-98205 A

  However, in the conventional electric field communication system, in order for the portable terminal 1 held by the human body to communicate with the information terminal 5, the transceiver 3'a or 3'b in which the human body directly exchanges information with the information terminal 5 is used. It was necessary to contact the transmitting and receiving electrodes. For this reason, further improvement in convenience of electric field communication has been demanded.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a mobile terminal holding a mobile terminal without contacting an electrode for electric field communication for transmitting / receiving information to / from the information terminal. It is to enable electric field communication between information terminals.

  A hot spot system according to a first aspect of the present invention includes an electrode for electric field communication capable of arranging an electric field transmission medium capable of inducing an electric field in a non-contact manner by capacitive coupling to a living body, and between the electrode and the information terminal. And a transceiver for electric field communication for transmitting and receiving information.

  A hot spot system according to a second aspect of the present invention includes an electric field transmission medium capable of inducing an electric field in a contactless manner with respect to a living body by capacitive coupling, an electrode for electric field communication in which the electric field transmission medium can be disposed, and the electrode And a transceiver for electric field communication for transmitting and receiving information to and from an information terminal.

  In each of the present inventions described above, an electric field transmission medium capable of inducing an electric field in a living body by capacitive coupling is disposed on an electrode that transmits and receives information to and from an information terminal via a transceiver for electric field communication. Thus, the electric field is induced from the electric field transmission medium to the living body only by the living body approaching the electric field transmission medium.

  The hot spot system according to the present invention enables electric field communication between the portable terminal and the information terminal without the human body holding the portable terminal contacting the electrode for electric field communication for transmitting and receiving information with the information terminal. be able to.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the hot spot system according to the present embodiment includes a transmission / reception electrode 204 for electric field communication in which an electric field transmission medium 202 capable of inducing an electric field in a non-contact manner by capacitive coupling to a human body can be disposed, and transmission / reception The configuration includes a transceiver 203 for electric field communication that transmits and receives information between the electrode 204 and the information terminal 205.

  The information terminal 205 is connected to a local area network (LAN) 207, and this LAN 207 is wired under the ground ground 206. Further, the information terminal 205 is connected to an interface built in the transceiver 203 via a communication line.

  The transceiver 203 has an internal transmission circuit and reception circuit connected to the transmission / reception electrode 204. The electric field transmission medium 202 has the same height as the human body, and an electric field is gathered around the information transmission / reception medium.

  When a human body holding the portable terminal 1 connected to the transceiver 3 comes close to such a hot spot system while a part of the human body is in contact with the transmission / reception electrodes of the transceiver 3 for electric field communication, the electric field transmission medium 202 Induces an electric field on the human body 201 in a non-contact manner by capacitive coupling. Thereby, the communication between the portable terminal 1 worn by the human body 201 and the information terminal 205 becomes possible only by the human body 201 approaching the electric field transmission medium 202.

  In this hot spot system, the height of the electric field transmission medium is set to be approximately the same as that of the human body so that electric fields can be capacitively coupled without contact. If the height of the electric field transmission medium is too low for the human body, capacitive coupling cannot be performed, and if it is too high, the electric field is disturbed and noise increases. It is desirable that the height be

  As the electric field transmission medium 202, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, a water tank 208 containing water can be used. Water is desirable as a medium because it easily transmits an electric field.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, an explanation staff 209 may be arranged as the electric field transmission medium 202. For example, an explanation will be given assuming an exhibition hall. Information related to the product 210 to be displayed is stored in the storage device of the information terminal 5, and this information is set in a state where it can be transmitted by the transceiver 203 and the transmission / reception electrode 204. deep. In such a hot spot system, when the human body 201 approaches the instructor 209, the electric field capacitively couples from the instructor 209 to the human body 201 in a non-contact manner. That is, an electric field is induced in the human body 201 using the explanation staff 209 as a medium, and information related to the product is transmitted to the human body 201 through the electric field, and transmitted and received by the transceiver 3 in contact with the human body 201 through the human body 201. It is received by the electrode and downloaded to the portable terminal 1 through the transceiver 3.

  In such a hot spot system, when the user (human body 201) approaches the instructor 209 about the product 210 of interest, the user can obtain information to be explained by the instructor. On the other hand, in the case of wireless communication, communication becomes possible regardless of the distance within a narrow range such as in an exhibition hall, so that only desired information cannot be downloaded.

  As the electric field transmission medium 202, a resin having moisture retention may be used. For example, it is conceivable to wind a resin having moisture retention formed in a sheet shape around a column and a transmission / reception electrode formed in a sheet shape around the column. Also in this case, it is possible to capacitively couple the electric field to the human body approaching the pillar in a non-contact manner.

  Next, an example of a transceiver for electric field communication used in this embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the portable terminal 1 held by the human body 201 and the transceiver 3 connected thereto. The transceiver 3 includes an insulating case 33 formed of an insulator, the following devices and the like built in the insulating case 33, and the following members attached to the outside of the insulating case 33.

  An insulating foam material 7 a for weakening the electrical coupling between the insulating case 33 and the transceiver body 30 is attached to the bottom of the inner wall surface of the insulating case 33. A transceiver body 30 for transmitting / receiving information to / from the mobile terminal 1 is attached to the upper surface. Further, an insulating foam 7b for weakening the electrical coupling between the transceiver main body 30 and the battery 6 is attached to the upper surface. Further, a battery 6 for driving the transceiver body 30 is attached to the upper surface. That is, the insulating foam 7 a is sandwiched between the insulating case 33 and the transceiver body 30, and the insulating foam 7 b is sandwiched between the transceiver body 30 and the battery 6. Further, the insulating foam materials 7a and 7b are provided with holes containing innumerable air. For this reason, noise transmission between the insulating case 33 and the transceiver body 30 can be suppressed by the insulating foam material 7a. Further, the transmission of noise between the transceiver body 30 and the battery 6 can be suppressed by the insulating foam material 7b.

  A first ground electrode G1 extends from the transceiver body 30 and is attached to the upper portion of the inner wall surface of the insulating case 33 without contacting other devices such as the battery 6 and the portable terminal 1. Further, the second ground electrode G <b> 2 extends from the transceiver body 30 and is attached to the upper portion of the inner wall surface of the insulating case 33 without contacting the battery 6 and the mobile terminal 1.

  The transmitting / receiving electrode 105 is attached to the bottom of the outer wall surface of the insulating case 33 and the side of the outer wall surface, and the entire transmitting / receiving electrode 105 is covered with the insulating film 107. Note that portions other than the operation / input surface of the portable terminal 1 are covered with an insulating case 11.

  Next, the circuit configuration of the transceiver will be described. Since the basic circuit configuration of the transceiver main body 30 is the same between the transceiver 203 and the transceiver 3, the transceiver 203 will be described as an example here.

  As shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. 5, the transceiver body 30 includes an I / O (input / output) circuit 101, a transmission unit 103, an electric field detection optical unit 110, and a reception circuit 113 (a signal processing circuit 115, a waveform shaping circuit 117). This is a configuration provided.

  The I / O circuit 101 is a circuit in which the transceiver body 30 inputs and outputs information (data) with an external device such as the information terminal 1. The transmission unit 103 is configured by a transmission circuit that induces an electric field related to this information in the electric field transmission medium 202 via the transmission / reception electrode 204 based on information (data) output from the I / O circuit 101. The transmission / reception electrode 204 is an electrode used for inducing an electric field to the electric field transmission medium 202 by the transmission unit 103 or receiving an electric field induced and transmitted by the electric field transmission medium 202. Used as an antenna. An insulating film 107 is disposed on the surface of the transmission / reception electrode 204, and the insulating film 107 serves to prevent the transmission / reception electrode 204 from directly contacting the electric field transmission medium 202.

  The electric field detection optical unit 110 has a function of detecting an electric field received by the transmission / reception electrode 204 and converting the electric field into an electric signal as reception information.

  The signal processing circuit 115 of the reception circuit 113 amplifies the electric signal sent from the electric field detection optical unit 110 and performs processing for limiting unnecessary electric noise and unnecessary signal components by limiting the band of the electric signal. Circuit.

  The waveform shaping circuit 117 is a circuit that performs waveform shaping such as waveform equalization on the electrical signal transmitted from the signal processing circuit 115 and supplies the waveform to the information terminal 5 via the I / O circuit 101.

  Here, the electric field detection optical unit 110 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The electric field detection optical unit 110 performs processing for returning the electric field received by the transceiver body 30 to an electric signal. This process is performed by detecting an electric field by an electro-optic technique using laser light and an electro-optic crystal.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the electric field detection optical unit 110 includes a current source 119, a laser diode 121, an electro-optic element (electro-optic crystal) 123, a first wavelength plate 135 and a second wavelength plate 137, a polarization beam splitter 139, and a plurality of Lens 133, 141a, 141b, photodiodes 143a, 143b, and a first ground electrode G1.

  Among these, the electro-optical element 123 has sensitivity only to an electric field coupled in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the laser light from the laser diode 121, and the optical characteristics, that is, the birefringence index changes depending on the electric field strength. The polarization of the laser beam is changed by changing the birefringence. A first electrode 125 and a second electrode 127 are provided on both side surfaces of the electro-optic element 123 facing in the vertical direction in FIG. The first electrode 125 and the second electrode 127 sandwich the traveling direction of the laser light from the laser diode 121 in the electro-optic element 123 from both sides, and can couple the electric field to the laser light at a right angle.

  The electric field detection optical unit 110 is connected to the transmission / reception electrode 204 through the first electrode 125. The second electrode 127 facing the first electrode 125 is connected to the ground electrode G1, and is configured to function as a ground electrode with respect to the first electrode 125. The transmission / reception electrode 204 receives an electric field that is induced and transmitted to the electric field transmission medium 202, transmits the electric field to the first electrode 125, and is coupled to the electro-optic element 123 via the first electrode 125. Can do.

  On the other hand, the laser light output from the laser diode 121 by the current control of the current source 119 is converted into parallel light through the collimator lens 133, and the polarization state of the laser light that has become parallel light is adjusted by the first wavelength plate 135. Then, the light enters the electro-optical element 123. The laser light incident on the electro-optic element 123 propagates between the first electrode 125 and the second electrode 127 in the electro-optic element 123. As described above, the transmission / reception electrode 204 is applied to the electric field during propagation of the laser light. When an electric field induced and transmitted by the transmission medium 202 is received and coupled to the electro-optic element 123 via the first electrode 125, the electric field is connected from the first electrode 125 to the ground electrode G1. It is formed toward the second electrode 127. Since this electric field is perpendicular to the traveling direction of the laser light incident on the electro-optic element 123 from the laser diode 121, the birefringence, which is the optical characteristic of the electro-optic element 123, changes, thereby changing the polarization of the laser light. To do.

  Next, the laser light whose polarization is changed by the electric field from the first electrode 125 in the electro-optic element 123 is adjusted in the polarization state by the second wave plate 137 and is incident on the polarization beam splitter 139. The polarization beam splitter 139 separates the laser light incident from the second wave plate 137 into P waves and S waves and converts them into changes in light intensity.

  The laser beams separated into the P-wave component and the S-wave component by the polarization beam splitter 139 are collected by the first condenser lens 141a and the second condenser lens 141b, respectively, and then the first photodiode 143a. The light is received by the second photodiode 143b, and the P-wave optical signal and the S-wave optical signal can be converted into respective current signals and output by these photodiodes 143a and 143b. As described above, the current signals output from the first and second photodiodes 143a and 143b are converted into voltage signals using resistors, and then amplified and removed by the signal processing circuit 115 shown in FIG. The signal processing is applied.

  Note that the first ground electrode G1 serving as a voltage reference point for the electric field detection optical unit 110 extends to the outside of the transceiver body 30 and is grounded. The second ground electrode G2 serving as a voltage reference point for the signal processing circuit 115 is also extended to the outside and grounded.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, electric field transmission that can induce an electric field in living body 201 in a non-contact manner by capacitive coupling on transmission / reception electrode 204 that transmits and receives information via information terminal 205 and transceiver 203 for electric field communication. By arranging the medium 202, an electric field is induced from the electric field transmission medium 202 to the living body 201 only by the living body 201 getting closer to the electric field transmission medium 202, so that the human body 201 holding the mobile terminal 1 is connected to the transmission / reception electrode 204. Even without direct contact, it is possible to enable electric field communication between the portable terminal 1 and the information terminal 205.

  According to the present embodiment, since the electric field transmission medium 202 has the same height as that of the living body 201, it becomes easy to couple the electric field from the electric field transmission medium 202 to the living body 201. Can be realized.

  According to the present embodiment, since the water tank 208 containing water is used as the electric field transmission medium 202, water easily transmits an electric field, so that good electric field communication can be realized.

  According to the present embodiment, the electric field transmission medium 202 is made of a resin having moisture retention, so that the electric field between the mobile terminal 1 and the information terminal 205 can be obtained even when the human body 201 does not contact the transmission / reception electrode 204. Communication can be enabled.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the hot spot system in one embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of another form of a hot spot system. It is a figure which shows the structure of another form of a hot spot system. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the transceiver for electric field communications. It is a circuit diagram which shows the structure of the transceiver for electric field communications. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of an electric field detection optical part. It is a figure which shows the mode of the electric field communication in the conventional system.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Portable terminal, 3 ... Transceiver for electric field communication 5 ... Information terminal, 7a, 7b ... Insulating foam 11 ... Insulating case, 30 ... Transceiver body 33 ... Insulating case, 101 ... I / O circuit 103 ... Transmitter, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 105 ... Transmission / reception electrode 107 ... Insulating film, 110 ... Electric field detection optical part 113 ... Reception circuit, 115 ... Signal processing circuit 117 ... Waveform shaping circuit, 119 ... Current source 121 ... Laser diode 123 ... Electro-optic element 125 ... First electrode, 127 ... second electrode 133 ... collimating lens 141a, 141b ... lens 135 ... first wavelength plate, 137 ... second wavelength plate 139 ... polarizing beam splitter 141a ... first condenser lens 141b ... second condenser lens 143a ... 1st photodiode 143b ... 2nd photodiode 201 ... Living body, 202 ... Electric field transmission medium 203 Transceiver 204 ... reception electrode 205 ... information terminal, 208 ... water tank

Claims (5)

An electrode for electric field communication capable of arranging an electric field transmission medium capable of inducing an electric field in a non-contact manner by capacitive coupling to a living body;
A transceiver for electric field communication for transmitting and receiving information between the electrode and the information terminal;
A hot spot system comprising: An electric field transmission medium capable of inducing an electric field in a non-contact manner by capacitive coupling to a living body;
An electrode for electric field communication in which the electric field transmission medium can be disposed;
A transceiver for electric field communication for transmitting and receiving information between the electrode and the information terminal;
A hot spot system comprising:   The hot spot system according to claim 1, wherein the electric field transmission medium has a height similar to that of a living body.   The hot spot system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the electric field transmission medium is a water tank containing water. The hot spot system according to claim 1, wherein the electric field transmission medium is a resin having moisture retention.

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