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INV-17075
Background
Power requirements are a substantial limitation of wireless communication devices. Conventional wireless communication devices have been powered using two main approaches: using a battery that requires replacement, or energy harvesting from an external source. A problem arises when such devices must operate continuously to send data, implement alerts, monitor, and report conditions. Under such operational conditions, conventional wireless communication devices are unable to meet power demands without sacrificing design characteristics, such as performance, size, and weight.
The invention puts forward new transmitter architecture and design techniques to facilitate the reduction of power consumption during the transmission of wireless signals from portable medical devices to nearby data recording devices.
Technology Overview
The development is based on the design of the transmitter that utilizes mixing and image rejection techniques to generate the two carrier frequencies needed for binary frequency shift keying (BFSK) transmission. The key component of the technology is a novel mixed-signal circuit that can efficiently combine analog signals at low-frequencies based on digital data, converting the information through digitally controlled switching operations for transmissions in the devices. It reduces the frequency-locked loop settling time requirement and enables low power operation by these mixing and image rejection techniques so switching between the two frequencies does not require changing the frequencies during transmissions. This achieves lower power consumption with increased transmission rates.
Benefits
- Energy-efficient design with reduced power consumption
- Increased data transmission rates
- Compatible with future Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)
- Enables smaller and lighter designs with higher performance
Applications
- Wireless health monitoring
- Medical implant communication service (MICS)
- minuMedical device radiocommunications service (MedRadio)
- Devices for the Internet of Things
- Wireless sensor nodes
