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JP-7856366-B2 - Antenna equipment, power supply equipment, and electronic equipment

JP7856366B2JP 7856366 B2JP7856366 B2JP 7856366B2JP-7856366-B2

Inventors

  • 吉野 功高
  • 佐藤 泰平

Assignees

  • ソニーセミコンダクタソリューションズ株式会社

Dates

Publication Date
20260511
Application Date
20210428
Priority Date
20200622

Claims (20)

  1. It is equipped with a rectifier circuit for receiving the electric field energy of radio waves or quasi-electrostatic fields in space and rectifying the AC signal into DC, The antenna has a first antenna element, which is a conductor used in contact with the human body when the human body is not grounded to the earth, and a second antenna element, which is a conductor separate from the first antenna element and is provided so as not to come into contact with the human body. An antenna device in which, of the AC signals output from the antenna section, the input line output from the first antenna element used in contact with the human body to the rectifier circuit is connected to the rectifier circuit.
  2. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein the contact surface of the first antenna element with the human body is composed of a conductive electrode made of one or a combination of gold, silver, aluminum, copper, iron, nickel, or an alloy, conductive resin, or conductive rubber.
  3. The antenna device according to claim 2, wherein the electrode is resin-coated.
  4. The antenna device according to claim 2, wherein the electrode is pin-shaped, hemispherical, uneven, or planar, depending on the shape of the equipment used.
  5. The antenna device according to claim 1, comprising a separation circuit for frequency-separating the AC signal input from the antenna unit, and a plurality of rectifier circuits for rectifying the AC signals separated by the separation circuit.
  6. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein the second antenna element and the ground are capacitively coupled.
  7. The antenna device according to claim 1, which receives an electric field generated by the human body when walking.
  8. An antenna device according to claim 1, wherein the antenna device is housed in a case, and the case's contact surfaces with the human body, other than the contact portion, are made of an insulating material.
  9. The antenna device according to claims 1 to 7, wherein the rectifier circuit includes a diode for rectification, and the ratio of the forward current when a forward voltage is applied to the reverse current when that voltage is applied in the reverse direction of the diode is at least 4700 times, or the resistance value obtained using the reverse current when 10V is applied in the reverse direction of the diode is 1.4 MΩ or more.
  10. The antenna device according to claim 9, wherein the diode is made of silicon.
  11. The antenna device according to claim 1, further comprising a high-resistance sensor of 2 MΩ or more for measuring the output of the rectifier circuit.
  12. The antenna device according to claim 11 , which measures and analyzes the voltage fluctuations of the human body using the high-resistance sensor to authenticate the person or obtain the state of the human body .
  13. An antenna device comprising multiple antenna devices according to claim 1, wherein the multiple antenna devices are connected in series.
  14. An antenna device comprising multiple antenna devices according to claim 1, wherein the multiple antenna devices are connected in parallel.
  15. The antenna device according to claim 1 comprises a switch inserted between the first antenna element and the rectifier circuit, and a detector that detects the output of the rectifier circuit and controls the ON/OFF state of the switch, A power supply device that turns the switch OFF when the output of the rectifier circuit decreases.
  16. The power supply device according to claim 15, wherein the capacity is checked periodically and the connection of a switch provided on the first antenna element connected to the human body is turned ON/OFF.
  17. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 14, A charger to which the output of the rectifier circuit is supplied, A power supply device equipped with an energy storage element connected to the aforementioned charger.
  18. The power supply device according to claim 17 , further comprising a load that operates using the power stored in the energy storage element.
  19. The power supply device according to claim 18, wherein the load comprises at least one of a microcomputer, a wireless communication unit, and a sensor.
  20. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 14, A charger to which the output of the rectifier circuit is supplied, An electronic device equipped with an energy storage element connected to the aforementioned charger.

Description

This technology relates to an antenna device, a power supply device, and electronic equipment equipped with an energy harvesting function. One approach being considered is to convert the energy of radio waves, such as broadcast waves, that exist in our surroundings into electrical power (energy harvesting). In conventional energy harvesting using radio waves, an antenna matched to the frequency of the radio wave to be received is formed, and a rectifier circuit is connected to it to store the energy in order to capture the electrical power in the air. However, this method requires an antenna matched to each receiving frequency, and the amount of electrical power that can be captured as energy is limited. Patent Document 1 describes a method of capturing radio wave energy from space by using the human body as an antenna or ground. The description includes an input terminal for capturing electromagnetic energy from radio waves that come into contact with the human body and propagate through the air; a method for rectifying the AC waveform power input from this input terminal, converting it to a DC waveform, and charging a battery with this power. Between the input terminal and the rectifier circuit, there is a matching section for impedance matching with the antenna, which is composed of resistors, capacitors, inductors, etc. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-088005 Figure 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a receiving device according to this technology.Figures 2A, 2B, and 2C are plan and cross-sectional views of the antenna device included in the receiving device.Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an antenna device including a circuit board.Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of an antenna device including a circuit board.Figures 5A, 5B, and 5C are schematic diagrams showing specific examples of the second antenna element, respectively.Figures 6A and 6B are schematic diagrams illustrating the operation of the antenna device.Figure 7 is a connection diagram showing an example of a rectifier circuit configuration.Figure 8 is a connection diagram showing the configuration of another example of a rectifier circuit.Figure 9 is a graph illustrating the characteristics of the diode in the rectifier circuit.Figure 10 is a block diagram of a modified example of one embodiment.Figures 11A, 11B, and 11C are graphs showing the measurement results of the output of one embodiment.Figures 12A and 12B are graphs showing the measurement results of the output of one embodiment.Figures 13A and 13B are graphs showing the measurement results of peak gain measurement in one embodiment.Figures 14A and 14B are graphs showing the measurement results of peak gain measurement in one embodiment.Figure 15 is a schematic diagram used to explain the operation of one embodiment.Figure 16 is a waveform diagram showing an example of a voltage waveform generated by the human body.Figure 17 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a power supply device according to this technology.Figure 18 is a block diagram of another embodiment of the power supply device according to this technology.Figure 19 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the power supply device using this technology.Figures 20A and 20B are schematic diagrams showing the configuration of an application example in which this technology is applied to the operation of a notebook personal computer.Figure 21 is a graph showing an example of the voltage change obtained with the configuration shown in Figure 20.Figure 22 is a block diagram of yet another embodiment of the power supply device according to this technology.Figure 23 is a block diagram of yet another embodiment of the power supply device according to this technology.Figures 24A and 24B are block diagrams showing a typical configuration for increasing output.Figure 25 is a block diagram of an example of a configuration in which antenna devices are connected in series.Figure 26 is a connection diagram showing an example of the circuit connection shown in Figure 25.Figure 27 is a block diagram of another example of a configuration in which antenna devices are connected in series.Figure 28 is a connection diagram showing an example of the circuit connection shown in Figure 27.Figure 29 is a block diagram of an example of a configuration in which antenna devices are connected in parallel.Figure 30 is a connection diagram showing an example of the circuit connection in Figure 29.Figure 31 is a block diagram of another example of a configuration in which antenna devices are connected in parallel.Figure 32 is a connection diagram showing an example of the circuit connection in Figure 31.Figures 33A and 33B are schematic diagrams used to explain the case where the number of antennas is increased.Figures 34A and 34B are connection diagrams used to explain how to increase the number of antennas. The embodiments described below are preferred examples of the present technolo