초록 ▼

Capacitive coupling is used to transmit data and power through a user's body. In one implementation, a transmitter carried by the user transmits power and data to a receiver, which is also carried on the user's body. The signal that the transmitter applies to the user's body not only contains a data

Capacitive coupling is used to transmit data and power through a user's body. In one implementation, a transmitter carried by the user transmits power and data to a receiver, which is also carried on the user's body. The signal that the transmitter applies to the user's body not only contains a data component, but also powers the receiver and enables it to detect and decode the data. In other implementations, the transmitter or the receiver is physically displaced from the user's body (although both receiver and transmitter are coupled to environmental ground), and data and power are transmitted when the transmitter and receiver become sufficiently proximate--via the user's body--to permit capacitive coupling. The disclosed approach is amenable to a wide variety of applications, ranging from "interbody" exchange of digital information between individuals through physical contact (e.g., a handshake) to "intrabody" data transfer (e.g., between a paging device worn in the shoe and a wristwatch display device) to devices that permit communication between the user and his or her immediate environment.

대표청구항 ▼

[What is claimed is:] [1.]a. providing transmission means capacitively coupled to the user and to ground, the transmission means comprising means for detecting variations in an electrical characteristic;b. providing receiving means capacitively coupled to the user and to ground, the receiving means

[What is claimed is:] [1.]a. providing transmission means capacitively coupled to the user and to ground, the transmission means comprising means for detecting variations in an electrical characteristic;b. providing receiving means capacitively coupled to the user and to ground, the receiving means exhibiting a detectable electrical characteristic representing information;c. operating the transmission means to pass, across the user's body, a time-varying signal having a magnitude sufficient to power the receiving means; andd. operating the transmission means to detect the electrical characteristic via capacitive coupling so as to recover the information.